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The Role of Workforce Dallas

Dallas is an economic powerhouse. And with a diverse business sector that anchors the fourth-largest metropolitan region in the United States, Dallas is primed for more job growth in the years ahead. But ever-increasing skills mismatches between the workforce and employers threaten to stunt the city’s growth and to leave behind parts of its population — particularly those who already live in the city’s underserved neighborhoods.

Workforce Dallas believes that by focusing on individuals and investing in mentoring and training, that we will collectively lift communities. Workforce Dallas exists to close that gap by conceptualizing, developing and executing initiatives and resources critical to engaging, upskilling and placing working-age adults in jobs that will lift them, their families and their communities.

With a holistic, hands-on approach to workforce development, Workforce Dallas will change lives, stabilize families, reduce generational poverty and change the future trajectory of our communities, and our City.

Workforce Dallas:

Six Pillars for Success

Reducing barriers to upskilling.

Childcare, language barriers, transportation and food insecurity present strong barriers of entry for many upskilling prospects, specifically single-parent homes. To remove these barriers, Workforce Dallas will engage a comprehensive corps of Dallas non-profit partners to create solution and provide resources that will support upskilling prospects and job seekers. These services are an integral part of the upskilling process, and we believe that success in this endeavor will create stronger, self-sustaining families and communities.

Identify geographic hotspots for upskilling.

When it comes to poverty and lack of economic mobility, handful of ZIP codes represent the most vulnerable citizens of our city. That’s why it’s critical to see our workforce development challenges from many different perspectives, including a geographic perspective. Through this lens, Workforce Dallas can refine outreach, delivery of barrier to entry services and rethink other aspects of our comprehensive plan that may be adjusted and customized for a geography and community.

Identify & nurture upskilling growth industries.

For Workforce Dallas, addressing our city’s workforce challenges means strengthening our workforce today, and setting a new trajectory for our city’s workers that leads to more stable, high-paying jobs in the future. To accomplish this, it’s critical that we work to identify future workforce need and begin working from the ground up to focus on key growth industries that we can build future opportunity around. This strategy will not only serve well in preparing our workforce, but it will make Dallas a business magnet for these targeted industries.

Interlocal agreements & partnerships.

By engaging in formal agreements with existing workforce stakeholders, including education providers, non-profits and corporate partners, we may create hard goals and align efforts and accountability for outcomes. These partnerships will be key to providing upskilling and job opportunities, providing services that reduce barriers to training and working, and building a training and job pipeline for future workers.

Job-matching tech solutions.

According to Pew Research, households earning less than $30,000 annually are nearly twice as likely to use a smartphone to look for information about a job — and more than four times as likely to use their phone to submit a job application. This means technology is key to reaching audiences for upskilling and job opportunities and building clear pathways to a better job that suits their unique circumstances and abilities.

Comprehensive outreach.

When it comes to upskilling and helping individuals retain higher-paying jobs, communication and outreach are key. That’s why Workforce Dallas will launch and maintain an ongoing outreach effort to build awareness and engage jobseekers and upskilling candidates, along with corporate and non-profit partners that are key to providing the resources and support that deliver opportunity for all of Dallas.

"Dallas must be prepared for the future and actively build toward the future we want."

DALLAS MAYOR

ERIC JOHNSON

Our Goals.

Increase upskilling & higher-wage job opportunities

Reduce barriers & improve access to opportunities

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