Services Partnerships Project Details The Future How to Use Project Details Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend, a non-profit professional job matching system formerly known as WorkSource of the Coastal Bendis partnering with the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, to reach the workforce development needs of the petrochemical, maintenance, and construction industries in the 12-county Coastal Bend region. Originally, the program was designed to determine job shortages and skills needed in order to meet the needs of industry employers through a more effective job matching system called TalentBank. However, through one-on-one meetings with industry business representatives, the partnership realized that workforce development needs went far beyond job matching. Therefore, the program shifted focus to identify industry obstacles and pinpoint workforce development opportunities. Industry obstacles identified include: Workforce Shortages High paying jobs available nationwide Retiring baby boomers Undeveloped career pipeline for next generation Growing energy industry Increased worker requirements Population Problems Without skills Illiterate Failure to pass drug tests Inability to understand English Poor Industry Perceptions Youth Parents With these obstacles in mind, the partnership identified core needs of the local industry, including: Development of a career pipeline system Access to grant monies providing entry-level and existing employee training Strengthening work ethic, literacy, language, and drug prevention training Development of a local marketing campaign for youth Initiation of a local refinery labor forecasting plan Development of a job recruitment plan Facilitation between industry and community regarding workforce development needs Now, the Industry Outreach Program is committed to advocating for industry’s workforce development needs within the community. The program staff meets with industry, education, and community leaders in order to hear all sides of the issues and facilitate solutions that will strengthen training and education. The web site will act as an information backbone in order to equip the Coastal Bend with information regarding the industry and the community. Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend will be an integral part of pooling available resources within the community in order to strengthen existing programs and build new solutions upon firmer foundations.