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Preparing the Workforce

San Angelo has seen some growth lately and with that comes growing pains, including a gap in the workforce.

SAN ANGELO, TX — "San Angelo metropolitan area is the 6th lowest unemployment rate in the state of Texas, and Texas is lower than the national unemployment rate,” Randy Lecompte, Deputy Executive Director of the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board said.

“Right now our economy is running on an approximately three percent unemployment rate which is a very healthy number, in fact it's maybe a little too healthy,” Michael Looney, Vice President of Economic Development for the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce said.

That's where the $500,000 grant the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board recently received from the Governor's Office comes into play. The objective of that grant:

"Provide skills, and close the skill gap within the current workforce,” Lecompte said.

Lecompte says the clients who come in for help have a variety of backgrounds.

"Ex-offenders or single moms, who don't have the work experience, who are having a problem getting a job who need the extra boost to get into the job market,” Lecompte said.

This grant will provide the training and some certifications that will give his clients that boost.

According to Lecompte, the two areas that are seeing a demand for workers in the Concho Valley are manufacturing and the health care industry, but where there's a willing workforce, there's a solution.

"Tom Green County is only one of two counties that's certified as a work ready community,” Lecompte said.

Those ready to work also provide another selling point to companies looking to expand or relocate to San Angelo. Multiple businesses even citing that as their deciding factor to sign on the dotted line.

"And part of their decision was based on the fact that there was an employee training and employee recruitment support mechanism already in place in the Concho Valley,” Looney said.

If the results of the programs funded by the grant show success, there is a potential the board could receive more grants in the future totaling one million dollars.

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