WALLER COUNTY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — As Waller County undergoes rapid industrial expansion, leaders from local industries are grappling with an urgent need: a skilled workforce to meet new demands.
At an Oct. 30 meeting, the Waller County Industry Consortium gathered to address the need for qualified workers as industries in the area grow in size and sophistication. They are seeking to secure funding for training programs to build a workforce capable of supporting the county’s new economic landscape.
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Driving the demand is what's know as “Industry 4.0,” often described as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This wave of change, defined by advanced manufacturing techniques, digitizes production through data-driven operations, human-machine collaboration, and robotics. The movement has reshaped the manufacturing, logistics, and distribution sectors, and Waller County’s newest employers are actively seeking workers skilled in these areas.
According to Vince Yokom, Executive Director of the Waller County Economic Development Partnership (WCEDP), about 1,000 jobs have been added to Waller County over the past three years.
WCEDP
Natalie Gonzales, Business Liaison with the Texas Workforce Commission presents funding programs to members of the Industry Consortium.
“We are experiencing a great need to fill jobs being created primarily in the manufacturing sector,” Yokom said. He added, “A majority of these new jobs require specialized training to work in these new advanced environments.”
To address the gap, the WCEDP formed the Industry Consortium, a collaborative effort aimed at creating a local training facility that could train workers in advanced manufacturing. For the past two years, consortium members have met regularly to discuss evolving industry needs, develop specific training curriculums, and explore funding sources. In recent months, the WCEDP has assisted several new manufacturers in setting up in Waller County, making use of the area’s inventory of available facilities.
“Our preparation to create an inventory of available buildings has made us very competitive in attracting new manufacturing,” Yokom said.
Wallace Everitt, president of the WCEDP Board, noted that the economic partnership has been proactive in diversifying Waller County’s industrial base.
“The WCEDP has been very forward-thinking when it comes to diversifying our industrial base,” Everitt said. “Not only are we diversifying industry sectors, but we are diversifying our base through our foreign direct investment program."
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Recent additions to the area include Danish-owned Coloplast, a medical device and supplies distribution facility, and Elin Energy, a Turkish-owned solar panel manufacturing facility.