WHAT: More than two dozen business and industry leaders will meet to discuss regional workforce training at the higher-education level, and address the role Austin Community College can play regionally.

WHEN: Monday, November 21, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: ACC Highland Business Center, 5930 Middle Fiskville Rd., room 201

Background: The forum, “Workforce Development/Educational Partnerships for an Economically Vibrant Central Texas,” is sponsored by the ACC Board of Trustees. It will explore workforce issues particularly critical to Central Texas and the state’s Closing the Gaps higher education initiative.

“Workforce training in higher education is absolutely vital to economic development,” says Dr. Barbara Mink, chair of the ACC Board of Trustees. “We are eager to bring together this fantastic group of experts to help us develop strategies to respond to regional workforce challenges and opportunities.”

ACC is the leading workforce trainer and retrainer in Central Texas. As the gateway to higher education for more than 50 percent of area high school graduates who attend college, ACC is the primary institution expected to meet the challenges of Closing the Gaps.

About Closing the Gaps
Closing the Gapsis a statewide initiative to ensure an educated workforce in the future by reversing a decline in the proportion of Texans participating in higher education. For more information on Closing the Gaps, you can view the state report at www.thecb.state.tx.us/ClosingtheGaps.

Austin Community College is a public, two-year college offering associate degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas at six Central Texas campuses. Serving as the regional leader in workforce training, university transfer and adult access programs, ACC opens its doors each year to more than 65,000 credit and continuing education students who benefit from the College’s great faculty and staff. ACC is the eighth largest community college in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education.