The Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) has announced the recipients of our 2021 Workforce Excellence Awards. Six recipients have been awarded the TEDC 2021 Workforce Excellence Award in their respective population categories. A total of twelve nominees overall were recognized for their workforce projects.
The Workforce Excellence Award program recognizes exceptional contributions by a Texas community or region that has implemented successful workforce initiatives. Members of the TEDC’s Workforce Development Committee reviewed and scored the applications from the nominees based on five criteria: innovativeness, transferability, community commitment and leverage, measured objectives, and secondary benefits.
The 2021 Workforce Excellence Award recipients are:
Population (Less than 15,000): Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation
Population (15,001 to 40,000): Seguin Economic Development Corporation
Population (40,001 to 100,000): Temple Economic Development Corporation
Population (100,001 to 250,000): Amarillo Economic Development Corporation
Population (250,001 and Above): San Antonio Economic Development Foundation
Regional: Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas
“Our TEDC’s Workforce Excellence Award is one of the ways in which our organization honors the outstanding work done by our communities and regions, their leaders, and their economic development professionals in the area of workforce development,” noted Carlton Schwab, President/CEO of the TEDC.”
The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation was recognized for the Take Root In Amarillo initiative. The community website gives businesses, job seekers, students, and individuals looking to learn more about city life a special look into the rich cultural, economic, and social benefits of living and working in Amarillo. As an employment resource, the website has a live job board section, where employers can post local job opportunities that offer a salary of at least $45,000 a year. In addition to jobs, internship positions for students and community members are posted by local companies.
“We’re honored to be recognized by TEDC for our Take Root In Amarillo initiative,” Kevin Carter, President & CEO of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, said. “Take Root In Amarillo is an effective workforce program because it has the ability to be utilized by community partners in order to promote talent recruitment, talent retention, and economic development in the Amarillo area. Since its launch in 2020, Take Root In Amarillo has become an integral tool in our business attraction efforts.”
“The Take Root In Amarillo initiative has been an extremely beneficial tool in our talent attraction efforts, especially during a year like 2020,” Sabrina Meck Perez, Director of Workforce Attraction & Retention of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, said. “As cities across America essentially closed businesses, work for many became remote and talent was more inclined than previous years to relocate. Take Root In Amarillo allowed the rural Panhandle area and mid-sized city of Amarillo to continue to reach talent who were considering relocating to a place that better served their needs during a pandemic.”
Since its launch, the Take Root In Amarillo job board gained 342 new job postings from 21 local companies, totaling 1,135 job views, 103 apply clicks on postings, and 5 applications sent through the job portal.