Skills gap threatens South, report finds

Texas and other Southern states are at risk of being left behind in an accelerating economy if they don’t create more ways to educate and train people of color, especially for jobs that require “middle skill” sets, a new report finds.

The Southern economy, once built on low-skill industries, now has a majority of job openings that require education and training beyond high school, but not a college degree, according to the report by the National Skills Coalition and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and St. Louis.

But the region has limited training opportunities for those jobs, including burdensome transportation and child care costs, high incarceration rates, persistent poverty, and lack of infrastructure in rural areas, the report says.

The report offers a road map for strengthening the South’s economy.

It suggests using workforce development strategies, such as sector partnerships with industries like biotech and work-based learning, as economic development tools capable of meeting industry needs.

Bruce Schreiner / Associated Press file These hemp seeds were taken from a plant at Murray State University’s research farm in Murray, Ky.