September 2009

 

Dear Friends and Fellow Employers,

 

I am proud to represent the Texas Association of Workforce Boards (TAWB) and report on our efforts on your behalf to prepare the talent supply for our great state.  During this past year, TAWB and its member boards worked hard to assist you with workforce solutions in order to help you grow your businesses.   We hope to continue to engage you as together we grow our state’s economy as well as our talent supply.

 

TAWB and its committees meet throughout the year to identify trends and develop and promote strategies to align employer needs with education and training.  Our membership is committed to preparing the current and future Texas workforce so that they meet the needs of Texas employers while advancing their individual prosperity.  TAWB and its member boards and partners across the state work together to promote innovation, share best practices and identify and address issues of significance within the workforce delivery system.

 

Today, there are many exciting and thoughtful collaborations underway to address the needs of Texas employers.  We, the volunteer members of the business-driven boards, encourage all of our colleagues and fellow employers to engage in such efforts by partnering with workforce boards to leverage public-private investment in our businesses and workforce.  This public-private partnership exists to grow the state’s businesses and afford a better quality of life for all our citizens.  I hope you will take a few minutes to look at some examples of these partnerships, which are showcased on our website under Employer Initiatives. 

 

Additionally, TAWB remains a strong advocate for education reform in Texas.  We believe that Grades K-8 must be the central focus for developing the state’s talent supply and that all students should ultimately be proficient in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies in order to enter meaningful employment.  We further believe that career pathways and career and technical education are critical components to successfully meeting the demand for talent while engaging interested students and setting the course for them to succeed.  Therefore, we will continue to provide recommendations on education to our educators, leaders and policy makers as there is no other issue before our state more important in today’s global economy.

 

On behalf of our membership, I invite your input and participation as we continue to look for ways to best assist Texas employers with talent needs.  We welcome the opportunity to invest tax dollars in our own and can’t think of a better way to spend those dollars than on the employers of Texas. 

We look forward to hearing from you,

 

Tyane Dietz
Chair