Brandi Harrison Trotter brought an explanation of what Workforce Solutions of North Central Texas can do to “assist [their] business partners with growing their workforce” to the PointBank Business Breakfast in Aubrey on Jan. 16.
The North Central Texas office covers 10,000 square miles, centered on Dallas and Fort Worth.
“Employers and career seekers are our main partners, but we also work with various other community stakeholders, including education—our K through 12 partners—and higher education—both community college and university,” Trotter said. “We work very closely with economic development entities, chambers of commerce, and we also work very closely with a lot of community partners, nonprofits.”
Part of the mission of Workforce Solutions of North Central Texas is “making sure that everyone has an opportunity to reach their full potential,” Trotter said.
“We are trying to move away from the ‘Everyone goes to a four-year university’ to providing different opportunities for students to get into the workforce,” she said.
The organization also works to connect students and businesses in the same community with each other.
Workforce Solutions also helps working parents who qualify with child care “so that they can continue to work or obtain training to gain a higher paying position,” Trotter said.
“We work very closely with industry and economic development to understand what the workforce challenges are currently and in the future so that we can develop programming and partnerships that will help to continue the growth of our workforce,” Trotter said.
That includes through encouraging apprenticeship programs.
The centers can help people refine their resumes and prepare themselves for the interview process as well, with special help available for veterans.
“We have Texas veteran commission staff that work in all of our workforce centers,” Trotter said. “We have staff dedicated to working with employers to help them recruit veterans, and we also have those that are working with the veterans looking to move into a career.”
Workforce Solutions also has a mobile workforce unit equipped with 13 computer stations and WiFi access that can be used during hiring events or career exploration programs.
“We have also lent that to other workforce boards across the state when there’s natural disasters,” Trotter said. “We definitely do share.”
For more information about the resources available, visit dfwjobs. com.
Aubrey PointBank branch manager Shannon Black was grateful for the opportunity to connect the community with the center.
'I saw a lot of people taking notes, so I though a lot of the information that she provided was good,' Black said. 'I would recommend that other organizations that have speaking opportunities have them out.'
