The global pandemic and corresponding recession forced companies and communities to devise new ways to connect people and work. In Pflugerville, Texas, the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. was the catalyst for bringing together various partnerships that filled workforce gaps and put many people back to work.
If COVID-19 taught us anything, it is that only the nimblest organizations will thrive. In the Austin suburb of Pflugerville, nimbleness is the hallmark of a public-private workforce development effort that sets the standard for the capital region of Texas.
Melanie Flowers, board chair of Workforce Solutions Capital Area, leads an entity that is responsible for organizing the Austin area’s employment ecosystem. “We partner with the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. in several ways,” says Flowers, who also serves as head of technical training for Samsung Austin Semiconductor. “First, we partnered in high-demand job training grants in 2019 and 2020. PCDC matched our funding and expanded career training programs for high school seniors to prepare them for careers in the EMT field.”
The partners purchased $300,000 of equipment for EMT Training which allows students to be eligible for certification as EMTs after completing the program.
