From Caller Times

State lawmakers and local business leaders on Wednesday championed the need for employers and schools to train students in skills that will keep the area’s economy thriving. 

During a luncheon at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center, officials discussed bills passed in this year’s legislative session that affect schools and the workforce. 

They also discussed the results of a Bridging the Talent Gap survey that identified workforce challenges in the Coastal Bend; and the importance of the Port of Corpus Christi to the regional economy.

Dan Ash, lead researcher on the survey, shared a few of its findings. One was that the need for employees with degrees will grow in the next five years. The highest predicted growth, 49 percent, is for people with an industry/professional certification. 

That projection is among the highest for the 25 cities where Bridging the Talent Gap surveys have been conducted, Ash said.

The survey also showed that about a fifth of area employers partner with universities or colleges, and more than three-quarters said they want to partner with schools.