The Rio Grande Valley's two regional workforce development boards are working together on a Valley-wide workforce strategy, breaking from county lines. Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley and Workforce Solutions Cameron co-hosted the State of the Regional Workforce Conference at the Margaritaville Beach Resort on South Padre Island. Employers, educators, economic development leaders and public officials attended.
Francisco "Frank" Almaraz, CEO of Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley, said the number of incoming jobs calls for a coordinated approach across counties. He said the boards need to communicate and collaborate to be prepared. Almaraz said readiness goes beyond job placement and requires work with schools, childcare providers and community organizations. He said the two boards have worked together on some grant initiatives in the past.
Before the sessions, board members took a boat tour of the Brownsville Ship Channel. The tour showed industrial work at the Port of Brownsville, including a shipbuilding site operated by Saronic Technologies and an LNG terminal being built by NextDecade. Almaraz said leaders from the Upper Valley had not known the extent of the activity. Civic leaders from Hidalgo County also said they were surprised by the amount of heavy industry on the eastern edge of the region.