Charting A Course:
Responding to the Industry-Related
Instructional Needs of the Limited
English Proficient

The Texas Job Market

Identifying Demand-Driven Industry Sectors with Potential to Benefit from Workforce / Workplace Language, Literacy, and Basic Skills Curricula

According to the July 2005 Interlink Informer, the ten occupations expected to have the most job openings in Texas are the following:

• Retail salespersons
• Cashiers
• Combined food preparation/food service
• Waiters and waitresses
• Registered nurses
• General office clerks
• Child care workers
• Elementary school teachers
• Customer service representatives

The top 20 fastest growing industries in Texas for 2002-2012 include:

• Elementary and secondary schools
• Full service restaurants
• Limited service eating establishments
• Employment services
• General hospital
• Home health care services
• Local government
• Offices of physicians
• Colleges and universities
• Child day care facilities
• Religious organizations
• Computer systems design services
• Building equipment contractors
• Management consulting services
• Services to building contractors
• Nursing care facilities
• Automobile dealers
• General merchandise stores
• Grocery stores
• State government
• General and operations managers

A closer look at labor market information collected by Texas’ local workforce development boards (28) reveals factors that each region must consider before it submits to the Texas Workforce Commission a targeted industry list and a targeted occupations list. A number of criteria guide a workforce development region’s compilation of targeted occupations, including the following:

• Has the region had a successful placement history for those occupations?
• Is the occupation one needed by targeted industries?
• Are there good growth employment prospects for a particular occupation?
• Are the wages at or above the region’s goals?
• Is the time required for education/training for a particular occupation within the region’s goal?
• Are there available training providers in the region?
• Is there additional information to consider?

One of the greatest challenges in sifting through the numerous reports on the Texas economy and employment growth is wrestling with the diverse conclusions reached by the various authors. One must consider the questions asked to solicit input, the audience for which the report is intended, and the political focus that may influence the conclusions drawn. This report focuses on entry-level job opportunities for the state’s large English language learning population as well as the education and training needed to make these job opportunities accessible.

A major trend in employment creation over the past thirty years has occurred within service industries, with fewer jobs being created in goods-producing industries. Over 90 percent of the new jobs expected to be added to the state’s labor market by 2023 will be in service-providing industries, as demand for services increases with population growth (BIDC, 2005).

Specific industries with significant job gains have been ambulatory health care, food and drink establishments, hospitals, educational services at all levels, social, family, and child care services, credit intermediation services, and government. Texas industries losing the most jobs and experiencing the largest rate of decline are concentrated in the manufacturing sector, although a number of manufacturing industries remain competitive from an output and productivity perspective (Interlink Informer, July 2005).

The Texas Workforce Commission expects the labor market of the future to be significantly different from that of the past decades. For workers dedicated to lifelong learning, the changes will provide new opportunities, but for those unprepared or under prepared, the road to self-sufficiency will prove more difficult (Texas Workforce Investment Plan, July 2005-2007).

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC public meeting, November 2003) recognizes a number of external forces that are making a significant impact on the Texas labor market; these forces present both challenges and opportunities for the state:

1. Changes in technology are driving productivity in new directions; emerging occupational skill sets are linked to these changes.
2. Smaller firms, fewer ports of employment entry, and shorter career ladders appear to be emerging as business models of the future; they are accompanied by fewer upward career pathways with less mobility within an organization.
3. Changing demographics are impacting the labor supply pool.
4. Skilled labor shortages are tied to baby boomer retirement trends.
5. Wage earnings and skills gaps are increasingly tied to higher education, training, and skill attainment levels.

As a result, changing workplace settings, business practices, and requisite knowledge and skills are becoming the norm, making lifelong learning for workers essential. Furthermore, digital technology is becoming pervasive, and those on the wrong side of the digital divide will experience limited hiring and advancement opportunities.

Jobs requiring the human touch also continue to be in demand. It is not possible to outsource or relocate those jobs that require direct personal attention, such as those in health care or trades that require direct physical handling of materials, as is the case with distributors, plumbers, and electricians.

In responding to the mandate articulated in Education Rider 82 of the 79th state legislative session, Texas LEARNS defines workplace literacy as it is employed in the Texas Workforce Investment Council’s preliminary report of its 2004 Survey of Texas Employers (p. 66):

Workplace literacy typically refers to an employee’s reading, writing, and verbal communication and math skills. However, in Texas, there are many workers whose first language is not English. Therefore, workplace literacy skills also include an employee’s ability to understand and use English in doing his/her job. This includes understanding such things as safety rules, work procedures, instructions about operating machinery, and the ability to have adequate job-related communication with English speaking co-workers.

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