{"id":49837,"date":"2019-08-21T13:34:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T18:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=49837"},"modified":"2024-11-08T13:37:43","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T18:37:43","slug":"acc-examines-urgent-workforce-needs-in-new-workforce-development-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/08\/21\/acc-examines-urgent-workforce-needs-in-new-workforce-development-report\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC examines urgent workforce needs in new Workforce Development Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Community College (ACC) and the Austin Chamber of Commerce released the 2019 Workforce Development Report: Innovation, Collaboration &amp; Transformation highlighting ACC\u2019s efforts to build the workforce in the region\u2019s most in-demand industries: IT, skilled trades and manufacturing, and health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cACC is a critical partner to the region and to employers,\u201d says Mike Perrine, chair of the Workforce Development Report Task Force. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a continued increase in performance and completion which I think is tremendous. It\u2019s a testament to the right programs with the right curriculum that our area workforce has been asking for. \u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Central Texas is projected to create more than 60,000 new and replacement job openings for middle-skilled workers by 2021. As the area\u2019s primary gateway to higher education and training, ACC plays a critical role in building a labor force pipeline to fill workforce gaps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cACC strives to close equity gaps, because we know that is the key to creating a stronger, more stable community,\u201d says Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC president\/CEO. \u201cIt is important we take these findings to examine how we may work with our business and community partners to build the pathways that better serve all students \u2014 particularly those underrepresented in higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2018, ACC\u2019s enrollment rates remained steady, a stark contrast to declining rates across the country. The college also experienced solid growth in the number of completions. Over the past four years,&nbsp; completion rates doubled and transfer rates increased by nine percentage points. Other findings and developments noted in the report:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Approximately 79 percent of ACC alumni remain in Central Texas.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The number of workforce credentials earned increased 52 percent from 2014 to 2018.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sharpest gains were in targeted areas including Health Sciences, Design, Manufacturing, Construction &amp; Applied Technologies, and Computer Science and Information Technology \u2014\u00a0 up 12, 42, and 11 percent respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>High school enrollment in credit courses increased by almost 60 percent from 2014 to 2018.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sharpest gains were among Hispanic\/Latino, Black\/African American, and Asian students \u2014 up 132, 103, and 135 percent respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report also outlines steps for future success through multi-stakeholder collaboration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cACC strives to be a regional catalyst for collaboration and growth,\u201d says Dr. Rhodes. \u201cWith our partners, we can increase the direct-to-college pathway and dual credit programs, build funding for career-technical programs, and develop new options for diverse learners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have a charge from the public to build our economy, and ACC is being proactive in setting targets and developing strategies to create the skilled workforce we need,\u201d says Perrine. \u201cTo have a partner that\u2019s focused on delivering for the future is powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The full report is <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1-UmdhEGUS8vUgL6X8-LQDkJRx9r58FDK\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">available online<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin Community College (ACC) and the Austin Chamber of Commerce released the 2019 Workforce Development Report: Innovation, Collaboration &amp; Transformation highlighting ACC\u2019s efforts to build the workforce in the region\u2019s most in-demand industries: IT, skilled &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/08\/21\/acc-examines-urgent-workforce-needs-in-new-workforce-development-report\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,15,17,18],"tags":[1029,381,150,310,226,534,3636],"class_list":["post-49837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-and-community","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-official-acc-press-releases","tag-austin-chamber","tag-austin-chamber-of-commerce","tag-employment","tag-in-demand","tag-jobs","tag-workforce-development","tag-workforce-development-report"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}