WACO, Texas — The non-profit Prosper Waco launched an initiative to provide training courses for people to fill high-demand jobs across McLennan County.
"UpSkill is an initiative to work with our education and workforce partners here in McLennan County to help build more accessible and flexible workforce training for people that are unemployed, as well as underemployed," said Tiffany Gallegos-Whitley, the director of workforce initiatives at Prosper Waco.
Gallegos-Whitley said they have known for years that there are a lot of people working lower wage jobs in the community that need to enhance their skills to secure a higher wage job.
"We want a flexible pathway for people that can get trained. They don't necessarily have to go to the four-year-degree college in order to make a good wage for themselves and their families," Gallegos-Whitley said.
Propser Waco is partnering with the City of Waco, Heart of Texas Goodwill, TSTC and McLennan Community College to offer courses in construction, industrial maintenance, hospitality, as well as healthcare and logistics that will be launching soon.
"The goal of UpSkill Waco is to make sure families can be financially secure and also that businesses have a good robust selection of employees that have the skills to go get those jobs," Waco Mayor Dillon Meek said.
He added that he's excited about this initiative that will help people get into jobs that are in high-demand with opportunities for individual growth, as well as growth for the entire community.
"My hope is that this is a way for us to have a more financially secure city and therefore a stronger economy at large," Meek said.
UpSkill Waco is currently accepting applications, click here to apply.
For more information on Prosper Waco, click here.