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THANK YOU ALL, EVERYONE FOR, UM, ATTENDING OUR ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING.
IT'S TUESDAY, MARCH 2ND, 2021.
UM, SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
WE HAVE TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA FOR BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
THANK YOU FOR OUR PARTNERS WHO ARE HERE.
AND, UM, ALSO KNOW THAT ONE OF OUR COLLEAGUES HAS A HARD STOP AT THREE 15.
SO WE'RE WANTING TO GET THROUGH THIS PRETTY QUICKLY.
AND, UM, I HAVE TO SAY BEFORE WE DO ROLL, WELCOME JENNA SEDA HERRERA.
YOU CAN GIVE US HOW YOUR ADVENTURES IN MOMMYHOOD IS GOING.
UH, BUT WITH THAT NANCY MADAM CLERK, IF YOU CAN PLEASE CALL THE ROLE.
COUNCIL MEMBER VEO HALBERDA HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, SHIRLEY GONZALEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER A HERE PRESENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER PALAI AND CHAIR VIA HERE.
AND OF COURSE, UM, I SEE ALL MY COUNCIL WOMEN HERE AND OUR, UM, A DIRECTOR.
SO HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AS WELL.
UH, SO GLAD TO TO SEE THIS AND TO GET WORKING HERE.
SO, UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENT EITHER.
NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND RUN.
AND WE HAVE NO MINUTES FOR OUR MEETING, EITHER.
[1. 21-1892 Briefing on the Train for Jobs SA program, which implements the Workforce Development Pillar within the COVID-19 Community Recovery and Resiliency Plan and implementation planning for the SA: Ready to Work initiative. [Carlos J. Contreras, III; Assistant City Manager; Alejandra Lopez, Director, Economic Development]]
GONNA JUMP RIGHT INTO ITEM NUMBER ONE, THE BRIEFING ON THE TRAIN FOR JOBS SA PROGRAM, UM, WHICH IMPLEMENTS THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PILLAR WITHIN THE C OVID 19 COMMUNITY RECOVERY AND RESILIENCY PLAN, AND IMPLEMENTING IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING FOR THE SAN ANTONIO READY TO WORK INITIATIVE.I'LL PASS IT OVER TO YOU, ALEX, OR CARLOS.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
TODAY'S BRIEFING WILL INCLUDE UPDATES ON BOTH OUR TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM AND THE IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING ASSOCIATED WITH READY TO WORK.
AS, AS THE CHAIR JUST READ, UM, REGARDING TRAIN FOR JOBS, UM, WE ARE GONNA BE BUILDING ON THE QUALITATIVE DATA SHARE SHARED BY OUR PARTNERS DURING THE FEBRUARY MEETING, UM, EXPLAINING HOW THOSE EXPERIENCES ARE IMPACTING OUR PROGRAM COSTS AND DESCRIBING THE CONTRACT AMENDMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH AGENCY.
THEN WE'LL SHIFT OVER TO ESSAY READY TO WORK WHERE TODAY'S BRIEFING.
WE'LL INTRODUCE SOME PRELIMINARY GUIDING PRINCIPLES, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, UM, THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED FOR THE PROGRAM, AND INTRODUCE SOME POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, DESCRIBE OUR NEXT STEPS AS FAR AS ENGAGEMENT AND UPCOMING SOLICITATION.
SO STARTING WITH TRAIN FOR JOBS, UM, LAST MONTH YOU HEARD FROM OUR PARTNERS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES OVER THE PAST FIVE MONTHS.
UM, THEY SHARED HOW PARTICIPANTS ARE EXPRESSING MORE INTEREST IN LONG-TERM VERSUS SHORT-TERM TRAINING, UM, WHICH IS IMPACTING THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT PARTICIPANTS ARE SPENDING IN TRAINING BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT EVEN BEFORE TRAINING STARTS, THEY ALSO ARE SEEING THE NEED TO INVEST MORE ADDITIONAL OR MORE TIME INTO CASE MANAGEMENT AND CAREER EXPLORATION TO HELP PARTICIPANTS ACCESS THE RESOURCES AND THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND, AND TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR OPTIONS.
UM, THESE EXPERIENCES ARE NOW INFORMING HOW WE IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM.
AND AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE CONTRACTS TERM, UM, WITH EACH OF THE PARTNERS, IT INTENTIONALLY CALLED FOR A RENEWAL OPTION.
SO HAVING THIS ADDITIONAL QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD NOW WITH THESE CONTRACT AMENDMENTS OR EXTENSIONS.
UM, THAT'LL HELP BETTER POSITION THE PROGRAM FOR THE REMAINING SEVEN MONTHS.
AND BECAUSE THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONTRACTS INVOLVE BUDGETS, WE'D LIKE TO BRIEFLY EXPLAIN HOW OUR INITIAL PROGRAM COSTS WERE CALCULATED, ALONG WITH WHAT'S INFORMING OUR REVISED ESTIMATES.
SO STARTING WITH CASE MANAGEMENT, OUR INITIAL PROJECTIONS, UM, IT WAS BASED ON OUR TRADITIONAL EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TYPE OF WORK THROUGH OUR CONTRACT WITH PROJECT QUEST.
UM, BUT BASED ON ACTUAL EXPENSES OUR PARTNERS HAVE HAVE REPORTED BETWEEN OCTOBER AND DECEMBER, WE'RE SEEING SLIGHTLY HIGHER COSTS PER PARTICIPANTS, UM, AND HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY TRAINING COSTS.
WE BASE THESE, UM, WE ORIGINALLY BASE THEM ON OUR TRADITIONAL COSTS WITH OUR DELEGATE
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AGENCIES, UM,BUT AS SOME OF OUR PARTNERS SHARED, UH, LAST MONTH, THEY'RE SEEING PARTICIPANTS WITH, UM, MORE SUBSTANTIAL REMEDIATION NEEDS, WHICH ARE ALSO DRIVING UP THE COST THAT WE'RE SEEING.
UM, OUR INITIAL PROJECTION FOR SHORT-TERM TRAINING, UM, WAS BASED ROUGHLY ON THE COST OF 12 CREDIT HOURS PLUS FEES AT ALAMO COLLEGES.
BUT NOW WE KNOW, AGAIN, BASED ON ACTUALS, UM, THESE EXPENSES ARE ACTUALLY HIGHER.
THEY'RE RANGING FROM $1,400 TO $1,800.
AND I WANNA REITERATE A CONCEPT SHARED LAST MONTH REGARDING TRAINING, ENROLLMENT, AND HOW FOCUS, UM, THEY'RE REALLY, OUR PARTNERS ARE REALLY FOCUSING ON UNDERSTANDING THE PARTICIPANTS' INTERESTS AND ABILITIES AND THEIR ALIGNMENT WITH CAREER PATHWAYS.
SO WHILE EFFICIENCY IS IMPORTANT, UM, OUR PARTNERS ARE NOT SIMPLY ENROLLING PARTICIPANTS INTO ANY AVAILABLE TRAINING COURSE.
THEY'RE TAKING THE TIME TO NAVIGATE PARTICIPANTS INTO THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE TRULY MOST SUITED FOR THEM AND THEIR NEEDS.
SO THIS, THIS APPROACH IS ALSO BEING USED WHEN IT COMES TO LONG-TERM TRAINING, UM, WHICH IS WE'RE WHERE WE'RE ALSO SEEING COSTS, UM, THAT ARE HIGHER THAN OUR INITIAL PROJECTIONS.
AS WE'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, MORE PARTICIPANTS ARE SIGNING UP FOR LONG-TERM TRAINING, WHICH ALSO IMPACTS THE AMOUNT OF DOLLARS BEING ALLOCATED FOR STIPENDS, UM, AS PARTICIPANTS ARE ACTUALLY SPENDING MORE TIME DURING THESE TRAINING COURSES.
AND IN ALL THE CASES I JUST DESCRIBED, UM, THE COSTS YOU SEE IN THIS TABLE DON'T INCLUDE THE STIPENDS, UM, BEING PAID TO PARTICIPANTS, WHICH ARE AN ADDITIONAL COST, AND THEY RANGE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF WEEKS A PARTICIPANT IS ACTUALLY IN TRAINING.
SO THE LAST SECTION OF THIS TABLE SHOWS A CHANGE TO THE BUDGETING FOR OUR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.
AND ALTHOUGH THERE'S BEEN LIMITED INTEREST ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPANTS, UM, BASED ON FEEDBACK WE'VE RECEIVED, WE AREN'T INCREASING THE DOLLARS AVAILABLE FOR THIS TYPE OF TRAINING TO COVER A FULL 40 HOUR WEEK, UM, PAID AT $15 AN HOUR FOR UP TO 12 WEEKS.
SO ANOTHER WAS A LOT ON THAT TABLE, BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT REALLY SERVES AS THE FOUNDATION FOR A LOT OF THE CHANGES THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE MOVING FORWARD.
SO NOW THAT WE HAVE THE INFORMATION ABOUT PARTICIPANTS' INTERESTS AND ABILITIES, ALONG WITH THE REVISED COST ESTIMATES FOR THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS, AND WE'RE USING THIS DATA TO UPDATE OUR PLAN FOR THE SERVICES THAT ARE GONNA BE PROVIDED THROUGH THE TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM.
ON THIS TABLE, YOU SEE THE ORIGINAL PROJECTIONS, WHICH INCLUDE TRAINING UP TO 10,000 PARTICIPANTS.
SO THE ACTUAL FIGURES IN THE MIDDLE COLUMN ARE A RESULT OF THE RAMP UP THAT IT, IT TOOK, UM, MANY OF OUR, OUR PARTNERS TO, TO REALLY GET UNDERWAY IN THE FALL.
UM, AND THAT THAT JUST HAPPENED AS PART AS OF IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAM THAT REALLY IS AT THE SCALE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, BUT THEY ALSO SUMMARIZED THE SHIFT IN TRAINING TYPES BEING ACCESSED BY PARTICIPANTS.
DURING THE LAST MEETING, UM, WE ORIGINALLY PROJECTED MUCH MORE INTEREST IN SHORT-TERM TRAINING, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE ON, ON THIS, ON THIS CHART, UM, THE PART, BUT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT PARTICIPANTS ARE, UM, WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THERE WAS GONNA BE A LOT MORE INTEREST IN THE SHORT-TERM TRAINING, THINKING THAT, THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO RESKILL OR UPSKILL QUICKLY AND REENTER THE WORKFORCE QUICKLY.
BUT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
UM, AND PART OF THIS IS NOT LARGELY BASED ON THE PANDEMIC'S CONTINUING EFFECTS, UM, BECAUSE LONG-TERM TRAINING REQUIRES MORE RESOURCES, WE ARE ACTUALLY SEEING, UM, WE HAD TO ORI WE HAD TO DECREASE, UM, THE ORIGINAL PROJECTION NUMBERS.
BUT AGAIN, IN MEETING WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS, IS MEET THE PARTICIPANTS WHERE THEY ARE FOCUSING ON THEIR NEEDS, FOCUSING ON THEIR INTERESTS, AND ALIGNING THEIR ABILITIES WITH THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
UM, UH, LASTLY, UH, WE REPORTED OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS THE LACK OF INTEREST, UM, IN THE, ON THE JOB TRAINING, UM, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE SUBSTANTIALLY DECREASED OUR PROJECTION FOR THAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF TRAINING.
AND, UM, CITY COUNCIL HAS ACTUALLY ALREADY REALLOCATED THE MAJORITY OF THE FUNDING, UM, FOR, FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY, FOR THAT TYPE OF TRAINING TO OTHER RECOVERY PRIORITIES.
UM, OUR INITIAL PROJECTIONS WERE, YOU KNOW, THIS UP TO 10,000 NUMBER WAS REALLY, IT WAS, IT WAS BASED ON THE FEELING OF HOW WE COULD POTENTIALLY SERVE THE PARTICIPANTS.
OUR NEW PROJECTION IS BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCES IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM, AND, UM, AND IT REALLY REPRESENTS A MINIMUM NUMBER THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING TO SERVE.
WE'VE HAD EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR PARTNERS OVER THE PAST TWO, UH, PAST FEW WEEKS TO DEVELOP ATTAINABLE TARGETS.
UM, BUT I MENTIONED THESE FIGURES AS A MINIMUM BECAUSE WE'RE ALSO IMPLEMENTING A KEY CHANGE TO THE CONTRACTS AS PART OF THESE AMENDMENTS.
MOVING FORWARD, OUR PARTNERS WILL BE EXPECTED TO BRAID FUNDING, MEANING THAT OTHER
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FUNDS A PARTICULAR PARTICIPANT MAY HAVE ACCESS TO INCLUDING FEDERAL OR STATE TRAINING DOLLARS WILL BE ACCESSED BEFORE TUITION DOLLARS ARE CHARGED TO OUR PROGRAM.AND AS WE EVALUATED EXPENSES, WE SAW THAT SOME PARTNERS WERE ALREADY DOING THIS, BUT OUR DIRECTION AND OUR EXPECTATION MOVING FORWARD IS THAT OUR PARTNERS OPERATE IN THIS MANNER.
AND WHILE STIPEND FUNDING WILL STILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THESE PARTICIPANTS, THIS NEW EXPECTATION MAY ACTUALLY STRETCH OUR TRAINING DOLLARS AND HELP US SERVE EVEN MORE PEOPLE.
I'M QUICKLY GOING TO REVIEW EACH PARTNER'S ORIGINAL AND UPDATED BUDGET AND SERVICE PLAN, STARTING WITH ALAMO COLLEGES.
SO THE BUDGET FOR THIS, WE LOST YOU.
ALEX, CAN YOU ALL STILL HEAR ME NOW? WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW.
I DON'T THINK I CAN HEAR ANYTHING WE CAN HEAR.
I THINK SHOT TO DIAL IN AGAIN, YOU CAN JUST START TALKING
YOU ALL KNOW YOU WELL, YOU DID RECEIVE THIS POWERPOINT PRESENTATION YESTERDAY, SO IT'S, WE ALL HAVE THIS THAT WE CAN FOLLOW THROUGH.
I'M SORRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, MA'AM.
MY, CAN YOU HEAR US? YES, YES.
MY CELL PHONE JUST DROPPED THE CALL.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT WE'LL TRY THIS AGAIN.
I THINK I WAS COVERING THE CHANGES TO THE ALAMO COLLEGE'S, UM, AGREEMENT, WHICH, UM, THEIR BUDGET FOR THIS AGREEMENT IS ACTUALLY DECREASING, UH, SUBSTANTIALLY ABOUT $13 MILLION.
BUT YOU SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THAT ARE GONNA BE SERVED IS ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY DECREASING.
HOWEVER, LINE BY LINE, YOU SEE THE CONSISTENCY OF INCREASED LONG-TERM TRAINING AND DECREASED SHORT-TERM TRAINING, ALONG WITH INCREASES IN HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY TRAINING.
AND, AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY IDENTIFIED A FEW ON-THE-JOB TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, THAT SOME PARTICIPANTS MIGHT BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AS WELL.
UM, THE NEXT PARTNERS CHRYSALIS, UM, AND THEY FOCUS ON INTAKE AND CASE MANAGEMENT, WHICH, UM, IS PROJECTING A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS SERVED, AND THE BUDGET ALSO REFLECTS THIS SLIGHT CHANGE.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE THE BUDGET FOR OUR AGREEMENT WITH FAMILY SERVICE, WHICH IS INCREASING OVER A MILLION DOLLARS AS THEY'VE PROJECTED INCREASES IN INTAKE ASSESSMENT AND CASE MANAGEMENT.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO SEEING OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT PARTICIPANTS WITH SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM TRAINING, WHICH THEIR ORIGINAL CONTRACT DIDN'T INCLUDE.
MOVING ON TO PROJECT QUEST, UM, THEY'RE PROJECTING AN OVERALL DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS, UM, WITH A CONSISTENT SHIFT FROM SHORT-TERM TO LONG-TERM TRAINING.
WE ALSO SEE ROUGHLY A $2 MILLION BUDGET REDUCTION, WHICH IS VERY CLOSE, BUT NOT EXACTLY PROPORTIONATE TO THE PARTICIPANT REDUCTION.
UM, AS ALL PARTNERS, THEIR NEW BUDGETS REFLECT THE INCREASED COST FOR EACH TYPE OF SERVICE THAT I DESCRIBED EARLIER FOR RESTORE EDUCATION.
UM, IT, THEY'RE NEARLY DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THEY ANTICIPATE SERVING, UM, WITH INCREASES IN INTAKE ASSESSMENT CASE MANAGEMENT, HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY, AND SHORT-TERM TRAINING.
AND THEIR BUDGET IS ALSO INCREASING BY $3.4 MILLION IN CONNECTION WITH BOTH THE INCREASED COST FOR EACH SERVICE, ALONG WITH THE INCREASED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THEY PROJECT TO SERVE.
AND MOVING ON TO WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO, UH, WE'RE PROJECTING A DECREASE IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THEY'LL SERVE, ALONG WITH THE OVERALL CONSISTENT THEME OF INCREASED LONG-TERM TRAINING.
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PLANNING TO SERVE A HUNDRED PARTICIPANTS IN LONG-TERM TRAINING, BUT ARE NOW PROJECTING A SEVENFOLD INCREASE IN THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY.AND WE, WE MENTIONED EARLIER, THE SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION IN THE, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING PARTICIPANTS, THAT'S ACTUALLY RESULTING IN SAVINGS, UM, THAT ARE BEING REPURPOSED IN THIS CONTRACT, WHICH IS WHY THE OVERALL BUDGET FOR W S A IS NOT CHANGING SUBSTANTIALLY.
AND IN CLOSING WITH SA WORKS, WHILE THE BUDGET FOR THE AGREEMENT IS NOT CHANGING, THE ASSOCIATED SCOPE OF WORK IS REVISED.
UM, ORIGINALLY SA WORKS WAS HIGHLY FOCUSED ON IDENTIFYING ON THE JOB TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH THEY DID.
UM, HOWEVER, GIVEN THE LOW INTEREST FROM PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PARTICULAR TYPE OF TRAINING, WE'RE SHIFTING ESSAY WORK SCOPE TO FOCUS ON IDENTIFYING AVAILABLE JOB OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, AND THEY'RE GONNA DO THIS THROUGH THE BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION NETWORK THAT THEY DEPLOY.
SO THIS INFORMATION IS GATHERED BY E D F STAFF DURING MEETINGS WITH COMPANIES.
THEY'RE NOT SIMPLY RELYING ON JOB BOARDS OR JOB BANKS.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO GONNA DEVELOP A DATABASE, UH, OF THESE CURRENT AND PROJECTED JOB OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY IDENTIFY THROUGH B R E VISITS, UM, TO SUPPORT THE PLACEMENT FUNCTIONS FOR EACH OF THE PARTNERS.
AND, UM, ALSO TO HELP INFORM THE TRAINING PIPELINE.
DURING THE LAST, UM, E W D C MEETING EACH OF THE PARTNERS, I, I BELIEVE ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ASKED ABOUT THE, THE STRATEGIES THAT EACH PARTNER USES IN I IN JOB PLACEMENT STRATEGIES.
AND, AND THEY KIND OF DESCRIBED ALL OF THOSE ESSAY WORKS IS NOT GONNA BE COMING IN TO SUPPLEMENT THAT WORK.
UM, ESSAY WORKS WILL ALSO FACILITATE ACCESS TO LOCAL EMPLOYERS BY HOSTING JOB FAIRS ALIGNED WITH THE TRAINING COMPLETION PIPELINE.
UM, SO AS WE SEE PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE COMPLETING TRAINING, THESE ARE, THESE ARE THE TYPES OF JOB FAIRS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON.
AND THEN ALSO HOSTING SOME TECHNOLOGY PREP SESSIONS, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, OUR PARTNERS AND OUR PARTICIPANTS ARE READY TO PARTICIPATE OR, OR TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE IN WHATEVER TECHNOLOGY IS GONNA BE USED BY EMPLOYERS OR, OR BY THE PARTICULAR JOB FAIR.
SO THE PROCEEDING SLIDES DESCRIBE THE SERVICE LEVEL AND THE BUDGET REVISIONS FOR EACH OF THE PARTNER AGENCIES.
BUT I'LL ALSO ADD THAT THE REVISED BUDGETS HAVE RESULTED IN APPROXIMATELY $6 MILLION WITHIN THE WORKFORCE PILLAR BEING ALLOCATED TO ANY PARTICULAR PARTNER.
OUR INTENTION IS TO MONITOR EACH PARTNER TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO AUGMENT BUDGETS BASED ON ANY INCREASED CAPACITY THEY MAY EXPERIENCE BASED ON PARTICIPANT'S INTEREST AND ALSO ON ALIGNMENT WITH CAREER OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY UPDATE ON TRAIN FOR JOBS, AND I'LL BE SHIFTING OVER TO AN UPDATE ON THE PLANNING ASSOCIATED WITH ESSAY READY TO WORK.
UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, UM, I WON'T BE PROVIDING MUCH BACKGROUND AS WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE THE VOTER APPROVED INITIATIVE.
MY UPDATE TODAY WILL REALLY FOCUS ON THE FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS UNDER CONSIDERATION AND OPEN FOR FEEDBACK.
AND I'LL START OFF WITH OUR PRELIMINARY GUIDING PRINCIPLES WITH FOCUS ON THE WORD PRELIMINARY HERE.
UM, THESE PRINCIPLES ARE A COLLECTION OF CONCEPTS EXPRESSED DURING THE LEADERSHIP TASK FORCE MEETINGS DURING THE SUMMER AND FROM COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS DURING THE FALL.
THEY ALSO INCORPORATE EXPERIENCES FROM OUR RECOVERY WORK AND UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES THE READY TO WORK PROGRAM PROVIDES.
WE START OFF WITH A FOCUSED APPROACH, MAKING SURE THAT OUR TARGET SOLUTIONS, OUR TARGET SOLUTIONS, FOCUS ON MAXIMUM IMPACT.
WE KNOW THAT THE NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE SIGNIFICANT, AND THERE'S A POTENTIAL TO TRY TO ADDRESS ALL OF THESE NEEDS.
THIS GUIDING PRINCIPLE IS INTENDED TO HELP US STAY FOCUSED, NOT JUST IN OUR COMMITMENT TO THE VOTERS, BUT IN OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR SOLUTIONS.
AND WE HEAR THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN FROM EMPLOYERS.
THE BEST WAY TO ENSURE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM ARE HIRED IS IF THE TRAINING AND DEGREES THEY RECEIVED ALIGN WITH EMPLOYER NEEDS.
BUT THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY.
IT NEEDS TO BE FOSTERED AND FACILITATED AND SHOULD BE A CORE TENANT OF OUR WORK REMOVING BARRIERS.
THIS IS, UM, NOT YOU OR UNIQUE.
IN FACT, OUR POVERTY REPORT AND OUR STATUS OF WOMEN REPORT BOTH DOCUMENTED AND RECOMMENDED.
THIS APPROACH, INCORPORATING THIS AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE PROVIDES THE ATTENTION AND INTENTION TO MEET PARTICIPANTS WHERE THEY ARE.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THAT IS MORE OF A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY HERE.
CORE TO THIS PROGRAM SHOULD BE THE INTENT TO IMPROVE THE WORKFORCE ECOSYSTEM, LEVERAGING THE BENEFITS OF THIS INVESTMENT FAR BEYOND THE YEARS OF THE ACTUAL TAX COLLECTION.
AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, EQUITY, AND WE DEFINE EQUITY IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, BUT PERHAPS MOST RELEVANT FOR THIS PROGRAM IS A CONSIDERATION OF THE BENEFITS AND THE BURDENS TO HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.
AND AGAIN, THESE ARE STILL PRELIMINARY, THEY'RE INTENDED TO PROVIDE TO, TO, TO HELP US NAVIGATE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM.
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AND NEXT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO SOME PRELIMINARY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.THE GOALS ARE NOT NECESSARILY NEW CONCEPTS, BUT THEY'RE INTENDED TO ARTICULATE THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK.
THEY'RE BASICALLY OUR WHY STATEMENT.
UM, SO FIRST WE WANT TO CONNECT RESIDENTS WITH QUALITY JOBS AVAILABLE TODAY.
SECONDLY, WE WANNA PROJECT AND PREPARE FOR FUTURE TALENT REQUIREMENTS.
AND LASTLY, WE WANNA PROMOTE EQUITABLE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND MOBILITY.
THE OBJECTIVES, UM, BEGIN TO DESCRIBE WHAT THE PROGRAM SHOULD INCLUDE OR PROVIDE, UM, WHICH ARE NOT NEW EITHER.
UM, INCREASING ACCESS TO INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED CERTIFICATES AND DEGREES AS A PATHWAY TO MATCH RESIDENT TALENT WITH EMPLOYER NEEDS.
UM, THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE WRAPAROUND SUPPORT.
AND AGAIN, THIS INCREASED, UM, FOCUSING ON THE INCREASED COLLABORATION WITHIN THE WORKFORCE ECOSYSTEM.
AND THIS LEADS US TO THE POLICY CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM.
AGAIN, WE KNOW IT'S NOT YOU, ALEX.
CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
UM, MA'AM, MY CELL PHONE KEEPS DROPPING, SO I'M GONNA USE MY COMPUTER AUDIO.
UM, THIS GETS US TO THE, THE, THE POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.
THE FIRST OF THOSE BEING THE TARGET POPULATION.
WHAT AGES SHOULD WE BE SERVING? AND WHAT SPECIFIC GROUPS SHOULD WE BE TARGETING? UM, WOMEN, HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS, UM, THOSE THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM, LIKE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT POPULATIONS WE COULD BE CONSIDERING.
UM, MUST PEOPLE BE UNEMPLOYED OR SHOULD THEY, UM, SHOULD WE ALSO BE ABLE TO SERVE THOSE THAT ARE UNDEREMPLOYED? UM, SHOULD THERE BE AN INCOME RESTRICTION? AND, UM, WHICH OF THESE ELEMENTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA VERSUS TARGETS FOR, FOR SPECIFIC OUTREACH? UM, MOVING ON TO EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS.
WHAT LEVELS OF EDUCATION SHOULD OR CAN A PERSON HAVE AND STILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM? AND A COMMON QUESTION WE'VE HEARD SINCE THE BEGINNING IS ABOUT THE MIX BETWEEN WORKFORCE TRAINING AND COLLEGE DEGREES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM.
AND WHEN YOU MOVE ON TO TARGETED INDUSTRIES, WHICH DO WE WANNA FOCUS ON? WHICH INDUSTRIES DEMONSTRATE THE CURRENT AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES, NOT JUST FOR JOBS, BUT FOR CAREERS WHERE PARTICIPANTS CAN CONTINUE TO GROW THEIR SKILLS AND WAGES.
SO THESE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND THEY'RE CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGNING THIS PROGRAM.
UM, MOVING ON TO THE LAST SLIDE.
IT'S, IT'S JUST A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE NEXT STEPS, UM, WHICH IMMEDIATELY WILL INCLUDE REVIEWING OF THE RESPONSES THAT WE RECEIVED IN, IN, UM, ASSOCIATION WITH THE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION THAT WAS ISSUED.
BUT ALSO THIS WEEK WE'RE ALSO BEGINNING OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO REFINE THE PRELIMINARY GUIDING PRINCIPLES, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES I'VE JUST SHARED.
UM, WE HAVE THREE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS PLANNED THIS WEEK, STARTING TOMORROW.
UM, BY LAST COUNT AS OF THIS MORNING, WE HAD 60 PEOPLE COLLECTIVELY REGISTERED FOR THESE DIFFERENT MEETINGS.
UM, AND WE ALSO PLAN TO RECORD TOMORROW'S MEETING AND POST IT ONLINE.
FOR ANYONE WHO'S UNABLE TO ATTEND A LIVE SESSION.
WE'VE DEVELOPED A SURVEY TO CAPTURE FEEDBACK AND INFORM WHAT'S ULTIMATELY PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL NEXT MONTH.
SO THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS WILL ALL BE INCORPORATED INTO A SERIES OF SOLICITATIONS, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM.
AND WE'VE RESEARCHED DIFFERENT PROGRAM COMPONENTS AS WE'VE RESEARCHED THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAM COMPONENTS.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR POTENTIALLY FOUR DIFFERENT RFPS TO IDENTIFY PARTNERS, UM, FOR SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF THE PROGRAM.
AND AS WE'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, OUR INTENT IS TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO SELECT PARTNERS FOR THESE VARIOUS SCOPES OF WORK, BUT ALSO TO STAGGER THEM OUT TO HELP FACILITATE REVIEW AND EFFECTIVE PLANNING FOR THE COMING MONTHS.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTIONS AND DROPPING.
UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR WORKFORCE PARTNERS WHO ARE ALL WITH US TODAY, ALONG WITH DR.
E, WHOSE SERVICES WE'VE ACTUALLY ENGAGED TO HELP RESEARCH BEST PRACTICES AND IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH READY TO WORK PLANNING.
WESTFALL IN HER PREVIOUS ROLE AS ACTING DEAN AND ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
AND, UM, SHE'S ALSO AN ASPEN INSTITUTE, MURANO FELLOW.
SHE HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A CAREER PATHWAY APPROACH.
SHE'S INITIATED SECTOR STRATEGIES AND SHE'S HELPED EXPAND INTERAGENCY COOPERATION IN THESE FUNCTIONS.
SO WE'VE REALLY APPRECIATED HAVING HER AS A RESOURCE.
UM, AND WE'RE ALL AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS
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YOU MAY HAVE.UM, A REMIND, A REMINDER TO MY COLLEAGUES, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE PARTICIPANT THING.
JUST A QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU, ALEX.
UM, UNDER THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS FOR THE INPUT AND SOLUTIONS SOLICITATIONS, WHO ARE THESE STAKEHOLDERS? WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE GOING TO BE PART OF THE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS? ALEX, CAN YOU HEAR ME? CARLOS, CAN YOU KNOW, HE'S, UH, DOING THAT, UH, MADAM CHAIR.
UH, IT, IT INCLUDES, UH, EMPLOYERS, UH, OF THE VARIOUS INDUSTRIES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO TARGET.
IT INCLUDES, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, CHAMBERS, BUSINESSES, UM, UNIVERSITY, UM, SO ALL THE FOLKS WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN, UH, THE PROGRAM.
UM, I DON'T BELIEVE WE ARE TARGETING PARTICIPANTS, ALTHOUGH I'LL ASK ALEX CAN JUMP ON TO DO THAT.
I DON'T THINK THAT WE INCLUDED THEM.
AND SHE ALSO MENTIONED THAT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE VIDEO OF THE MEETING AND POST IT ONLINE.
WHERE ARE WE GOING TO POST IT? WE'LL POST IT ON, ON E D D WEBSITE, THE CITY WEBSITE.
AND THEN, UM, NEXT I'M GONNA GO TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE WHO HAS THE HARD STOP COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA.
AND ALEX TOOK MY CALL WITH A WHOLE LOT OF MY QUESTIONS, UM, EARLIER BECAUSE SHE KNEW THAT I HAD A HARD STOP.
UM, COUNCILMAN, I ASKED HER THE SAME QUESTION THAT YOU DID.
AND SO SHE SAID THEY HAD REACHED OUT TO, TO FOLKS, AND, UM, SHE SAID THAT WE HAVE, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS ABOUT 60 CONFIRMED FOR THE FIRST SESSION.
AND, AND, AND I THINK THEY WERE TARGETING, UH, 400.
I COULD HAVE WRITTEN MY NUMBERS WRONG THERE AND NO PARTICIPANTS JUST YET.
SO SHE SAID THIS WAS, UH, INDUSTRY, ET CETERA.
UM, SO THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.
I ALSO ASKED WHAT THE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN LONG-TERM AND THE SHORT-TERM.
LIKE AT WHAT POINT DO WE DEFINE THIS AS LONG-TERM? UM, AND THE REASON THAT I ASKED THIS IS BECAUSE PEOPLE DEFINE THIS DIFFERENTLY, RIGHT? AND SO ACROSS, UH, OUR PARTNERS, I WENT TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAD THAT AND SHE SAID IT WAS AT 12 WEEKS.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION, JUST ESPECIALLY WHEN TO, UM, OUR, OUR COLLEAGUES, MAYBE IN THE FUTURE THAT WE MAYBE PUT THAT IN PARENTHESES.
WHAT FOR THESE PURPOSES IS CONSIDERED LONG-TERM.
BECAUSE TO ME, LONG-TERM, UM, I I JUST, YOU KNOW, THINKING OUT LOUD WOULD BE MAYBE AN ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE, MAYBE A CERTIFICATION, RIGHT? HOWEVER, THERE'S DIFFERENT CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS, SO SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS.
AND SO FOR THIS PURPOSE, IT'S 12 WEEKS.
SO I WANTED TO SHARE THAT FOR THE BENEFIT OF MY COLLEAGUES, THAT THOSE ARE TWO OF THE CLARIFYING ITEMS THAT, THAT SHE HELPED ME WITH IN, IN ADDITION TO SOME OTHERS.
BUT SHE DID MENTION THAT THE PARTNERS WERE GONNA BE ON THE LINE TODAY.
AND I WANNA THANK ALL OF THE PARTNERS FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK.
UM, I KNOW THAT I'VE, I'VE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF YOU ALL DIRECTLY AS I HAVE QUESTIONS AND I THANK YOU FOR TAKING MY CALLS AS WELL.
I WANNA ASK, UH, JUST IN GENERAL, UM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO, UH, TO REACH THE NEW GOAL? OR WHAT ARE YOU CHANGING IN YOUR MARKETING OR IN YOUR, UM, TARGET AUDIENCES TO ACHIEVE THE NEW GOAL? AND SO WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE, SINCE THE LAST TIME IN TERMS OF MARKETING? AND I DON'T KNOW WHO WANTS TO ANSWER THAT FIRST.
WELL, COUNCILMAN, THIS IS DAVID WITH QUEST.
I'LL, I'LL SPEAK ON BEHALF OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND, AND GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHTS FROM THAT.
AND, AND AGAIN, IN THE BACKDROP OF, UH, THE C OVID 19 EXPERIENCE FROM THE PROJECT QUEST STANDPOINT, WE REALLY WENT TO A DRASTIC SHIFT OF, UH, MORE DIGITAL MARKETING, TARGETED MARKETING.
'CAUSE EVEN THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE SERVE, AND PROBABLY A LOT IN YOUR DISTRICT STILL HAVE PHONE ACCESS TO THEM.
AND SO WE, WE REALLY RE TAILOR OUR, OUR OUTREACH PRIMARILY OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS FROM A DIGITAL MARKETING PERSPECTIVE, TARGETED.
AND WE TRACK THE REACHES AND THE PERFORMANCE, AND WE'VE SEEN SIGNIFICANT INTERACTION AND INTEREST THROUGH THAT CAMPAIGN.
AND THEN THE OTHER PART THAT COMPLIMENTS THAT IS WE'VE BEEN ON THE GROUND WITH OUR PARTNER AT THE FOOD BANK, AT THE MEGA FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS.
AND WE'VE USED OUR, WE'VE USED OUR CONNECTIONS WITH OUR, UM, OUR PARISH PARTNERS TO BE VISIBLE IN THE CHURCH BULLETINS AND, AND REACH THAT MARKET.
SO THOSE THREE THINGS HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE AS WE HAD TO MOVE AWAY FROM FACE TO FACE.
BUT I, I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH, THE, UH, TECHNIQUES AROUND OUR DIGITAL MARKETING AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAS BEEN A, A MAJOR
[00:30:01]
SUCCESS FOR US INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY.IT BEGS THE QUESTION, ARE WE LEAVING ANYBODY BEHIND? SO THERE'S A CONCERN TO THAT PIECE OF IT.
AND AS WE GET PAST THIS CURRENT PHASE OF THE COVID EXPERIENCE, WE INTEND TO KEEP A HYBRID MODEL OF STILL FACE-TO-FACE PHYSICAL OUTREACH, BUT ALSO STILL LEVERAGING.
AND WE'VE LEARNED A LOT USING OUR TARGETED DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN.
DAVID AND I HAVE SEEN YOUR, UM, UH, YOUR WORK WITH THE FOOD BANK AND, UM, YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING IS ALL OVER THE PLACE, SO I, I SEE IT ALL THE TIME.
SO, UM, GOOD JOB ON THAT, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA ASPECT.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE IS GONNA ANSWER FROM THE PARTNERS, JUST LIKE MARY GARS UP, YOU, OUR END UP.
UM, FROM FAMILY SERVICE, I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE'RE CONFIDENT.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A PROBLEM WITH, UH, REACHING OUT AND HAVING PARTICIPANTS AND CLIENTS COME IN.
AND WITH OUR BROAD ARRAY OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, WE KNOW THE NEED IS THERE.
IT'S JUST LINKING THEM WITH THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND BEING ABLE TO DO SO.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERS THROUGH OUR VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT CONTINUE TO REFER PEOPLE OUR WAY AS WELL FOR THOSE NEEDS.
SO WE'RE VERY CONFIDENT WITH OUR ONGOING WORK THAT WE CAN EASILY ACHIEVE THE NUMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN INCREASED FOR US.
I'LL JUST ADD TO THAT FROM WORKFORCE STAND STANDPOINT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH, OF COURSE, OUR WHOLE NETWORK OF PARTNERS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IS ACTUALLY BEEN AN INSIGHT, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE PROCESS IS THAT, UH, WE WORK ALONGSIDE WITH OUR TRAINING PROVIDERS, AND MANY OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY PROMOTING, UM, THIS PROGRAM.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE, SPEAKING TO THE ISSUE OF POVERTY AND SOME OF THE SORT OF UNDERLYING FACTORS, SOME OF THESE TRAINING PROVIDERS HAVE ACTUALLY, UM, WRAPPED IN THE COST OF A LAPTOP OR A DEVICE AS PART OF THEIR CURRICULUM.
WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ISSUES ACROSS THE BOARD HERE IN SAN ANTONIO AND BEXAR COUNTY AND THE ISSUE OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
THESE GUYS HAVE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE, UH, REAL GOOD ACCESS TO PEOPLE WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE IT.
SO THAT'S 1, 1, 1 STRATEGY IN TERMS OF SORT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, MARKETING, UH, WE CONTINUE TO DO THE ROBOCALLS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, BUT I WANTED TO LEND THAT PARTICULAR INSIGHT 'CAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS, UH, INTERESTING FROM OUR, UH, TRAINING PROVIDERS.
I JUST WANTED TO, I THINK, UH, TWO POINTS.
ONE IS, I THINK AS, AS DAVID MENTIONED, UH, THE NEED IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A, UM, TO REACH INDIVIDUALS WHERE THEY ARE.
SO WHAT, UH, ALAMO HAS DONE, IN ADDITION TO WORKING AT OUR POPUP FOOD MARKETS WITH THE FOOD BANK, IS ALSO ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO GO TO DOOR TO DOOR AND TARGETED NEIGHBORHOODS WITH DOOR HANGERS, WHICH ARE LOW CONTACT, RIGHT? TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH TO, UH, POTENTIAL RECIPIENTS.
I THINK THE OTHER PART, UH, IS, UH, BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS OUTSIDE OF THE TRAINING ROOM OR OUTSIDE OF THE VIRTUAL ROOM, UH, WHICH IS TO PROVIDE OUTSIDE OF TUITION.
UM, BECAUSE ALAMO ALREADY PROVIDES VERY LOW COST, UH, TUITION AND FEES, UM, IS TO PROVIDE THOSE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS SUCH AS A DEVICE OR A LAPTOP WITH THE HOTSPOT THAT WE PROVIDE ALREADY TO OUR STUDENTS.
SO WE'RE SEEKING TO LEVERAGE THE ADDITIONAL INFRA THE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE TO SERVE THESE POTENTIAL, UM, PROSPECTS.
THANK, SINCE, UH, I HAVE YOU RIGHT NOW, I WAS GONNA ASK ANOTHER QUESTION SPECIFIC TO YOU.
UM, H SS E OR HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY, YOU ALL ORIGINALLY HAD 250, UH, ACTUALS, 80 OR 87 PROJECTED AS 3 35.
UM, BUT THEN I ALSO SAW THERE WAS, UM, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE A, A CHANGE.
IT, IT LOOKS LIKE A PRETTY BIG CHANGE.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ON SLIDE FIVE, THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY.
I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY BEING DONE WITH RESTORE EDUCATION, BUT I SEE IT ALSO ON ALAMO COLLEGE'S DISTRICT.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS, UH, THE, UH, AS FAR AS BEING INCLUDED AS A PROVIDER? YES.
SO, SO IT'S THE EXACT SAME THING THAT THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE OF THE COST.
IT, IT LOOKS LIKE IT WENT FROM, FROM 1000 TO 1,538 FOR THE ESTIMATE.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A DIFFERENCE BASED ON, UM, FLAT FEES OR JUST MAYBE HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS.
AND, AND IT MIGHT BE AN ALEX OR, OR A CATALYST QUESTION NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT INSTEAD OF DR.
FLORES, BUT I SEE IT ON BOTH AREAS.
[00:35:01]
FLORES AND COUNCIL MEMBER.CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THIS.
I'M CALLING FROM MY DESK HOME.
LET'S HOPE THAT THIS KIND OF KEEPS ME ON THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
AS FAR AS YOUR QUESTION ON THE, THE PROJECTED COST FOR, UM, HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY.
I THINK ORIGINALLY WE WERE ONLY INCLUDING RESTORE EDUCATION.
UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT, UM, THERE'S AN INCREASED NEED FOR REMEDIATION, UM, THAT THE TRADITIONAL PROGRAM THAT THEY DEPLOYED, IT'S REALLY REQUIRING A LITTLE MORE INTENSE REMEDIATION.
I THINK LAST WEEK OR LAST MONTH.
UM, MS. ROSE MENTIONED HOW THERE'S ACTUALLY, LIKE EVEN LOWER LEVELS, PEOPLE ARE COMING IN WITH EVEN LOWER LEVELS OF EDUCATION.
SO THE PROGRAM IS NEEDING TO BE A BIT MORE INTENSIVE.
UM, AS FAR AS ALAMO COLLEGES, IT'S THE S LAN PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
UM, THAT IS WHAT, UM, WE'RE ALSO INCLUDING AS PART OF THIS ALAMO COLLEGES AGREEMENT.
OKAY, THANK YOU, THEN THAT'S HELPFUL.
AND THEN THAT, THAT, I KNOW YOU HAD IT REFERENCED IN THE CHART, BUT I WASN'T SURE WHAT THE DIFFERENCE WAS, UM, WITH, WITH THE INCREASE AND WHAT, UM, RESTORE, UH, HAS DONE AS WELL.
AND I THINK JENNA WAS GONNA ADD SOMETHING.
I WAS, THANK YOU FOR THAT, COUNCILMAN.
I HATE TO, TO REGRESS HERE, BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT AS YOU KNOW, OUR ROLE AT SA WORKS, UH, ISN'T NECESSARILY ON THE INTAKE SIDE OR THE TRANSACTIONAL SIDE.
OUR ROLE IS PRIMARILY TO PROMOTE THE IN-DEMAND INDUSTRIES, UM, AND THESE DIFFERENT TRAINING PROGRAMS. SO ON THE, THE FORMER, WE'RE DEFINITELY INVESTING HEAVILY IN AND REALLY DOUBLING DOWN ON OUR OUTREACH FOR CAREER PATHWAYS.
UM, WE'RE LEVERAGING DIGITAL, AS DAVID MENTIONED, THAT'S BEEN THE, THE, THE GAME RIGHT THIS PAST YEAR.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO DOING A LOT WITH LOCAL TV.
YOU MIGHT'VE SEEN OUR, OUR PAID PARTNERSHIP WITH KSAT AND SOME FEATURES THERE.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, I'LL SAY THAT THROUGH THIS PARTNERSHIP, THE, THE BIGGEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT VALUE ADD THAT I'VE SEEN IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE EACH OTHER'S CONTENT UNDER THE TRAIN FOR JOBS ESSAY UMBRELLA, RIGHT? SO I CAN SHARE, UH, DAVID AND PROJECT QUEST CONTENT.
I CAN SHARE ADRIAN'S CONTENT, UH, CONTENT AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO.
AND IT JUST MAGNIFIES, UM, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT MESSAGING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PUT OUT THERE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT IN CLOSING.
SO MARY, SO LET ME GO TO TARANTINO, UH, BECAUSE I SAW HIS HAND WAS UP.
AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO MARY.
I WAS JUST GONNA MENTION FROM A, FROM A NUMBER STANDPOINT FOR CHRYSALIS MINISTRIES, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE BIGGEST PROBLEM THAT WE'VE HAD IS THAT THE JAIL HAS BEEN CLOSED TO US GOING IN AND PROVIDING OUR SERVICES.
AND BECAUSE THE COURT SYSTEM SLOWS DOWN, UH, HAS, HAS SLOWED DOWN, THERE'S FEWER RELEASES.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, AND SO PEOPLE ARE, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING OUT AREN'T COMING OUT ARMED WITH OUR INFORMATION.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS WE'RE WORKING WITH THE, UH, PROGRAM DIRECTOR OVER AT THE JAIL TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR MATERIALS GET INTO ALL OF THEIR CL UM, ALL OF THE, UM, PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING RELEASED HANDS BEFORE THEY EVER LEAVE.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THAT.
WE'RE PRETTY POSITIVE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO PULL THAT OFF.
UH, 'CAUSE THE OTHER PROBLEM IS THAT THE JAIL STAFF ITSELF IS NOT HAVING A LOT OF ONE-ON-ONE FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE INMATES.
AND SO BECAUSE OF ALL OF THAT, THEY'RE GETTING VERY, VERY LIMITED INFORMATION.
SO WE'RE COMING UP WITH SOME IDEAS AS ANOTHER BRAINSTORMING SESSION, I BELIEVE SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW.
WE'RE GONNA TALK THROUGH ALL OF THAT.
UH, PLUS WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO SOME OF THE OTHER PARTNERS IN THIS GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THAT IF THEY'VE GOT NEEDS FOR CASE MANAGEMENT, THAT WE HAVE SOME AVAILABILITY FOR THEM, UM, CAPACITY WISE TO BE ABLE TO HELP.
AND AS, AGAIN, MOST OF YOU PROBABLY UNDERSTAND THIS ALREADY, THE, THE, THE CLIENTS THAT COME TO US COME TO US PRETTY MUCH WEARING EVERYTHING THEY OWN.
UM, SO THEIR NEEDS ARE JUST HUGE.
THAT'S WHY CHRYSALIS COULD NEVER SERVE THEM ALL.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY THE PARTNERS, UH, IN THIS PROGRAM ARE SO IMPORTANT.
UM, AND BECAUSE THEY NEED EVERYTHING, IT'S A LITTLE, IT'S USUALLY A LITTLE HEAVIER LOAD FOR OTHER AGENCIES, CASE MANAGERS BECAUSE THEY'RE HAVING TO MANAGE THEM THROUGH MANY MORE PROCESSES.
WHEREAS WE COULD SAY, BRING THEM TO US.
WE CAN HELP WITH SOME OF THAT AND SEND THEM BACK TO YOU READY WITH WHAT, UH, THEY NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR PROGRAM.
AND MARY, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE IT OUT AND THEN GO TO MY NEXT COUNCIL COLLEAGUES 'CAUSE WE STILL HAVE MORE.
JUST, I WANTED TO CLARIFY ABOUT THE REMEDIATION TRAINING.
AND KELLY CAN ADD TO THAT AS WELL, IF NEEDED IN THE FUTURE, IS THAT THE REMEDIATION, THOSE BASIC SKILLS ARE EXTRA ADDED ON TO THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY TRAINING, BUT IT'S ALSO ADDING ON, EVEN IF THEY HAVE THEIR G E D OR OR OTHER H S E, THEY ARE NOT HAVING ENOUGH OF THOSE BASIC SKILLS TO EVEN ENTER SOME OF THE SHORT TERM OR LONG-TERM TRAINING.
SO THAT REMEDIAL SKILLS, UM, TRAINING AND EDUCATION THAT KELLY AND OTHERS ARE PROVIDING IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO OTHER THINGS, NOT JUST THE HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY.
WE'RE SEEING THAT ACROSS OUR PROGRAMS AS WELL.
[00:40:01]
TALK TO ME MORE ABOUT THE CORPORATE, UM, THE TARGETED OUTREACH AND CORPORATE RECRUITMENT AND OUR PROGRESS MADE ON ENHANCING CAREER PATHWAYS AND GRADUATION RETENTION? I'D LIKE TO HEAR KIND OF AN UPDATE ON THAT.I THINK, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, I'M TRYING TO, MAYBE I MISSED THAT PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
DOES SOMEBODY KNOW THE, THE SPECIFIC DETAIL OF THIS? I THINK LAST TIME I ASKED ABOUT THAT AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE, UM, I MEAN, I FEEL IT.
UM, SO I WANTED TO SEE WHERE ANY UPDATES OR CLARIFICATION ON COUNSEL AND ARE YOU REFERRING TO, UH, FOR RECRUITMENT AND ATTRACTING JOBS OR IN ENGAGING OUR CORPORATIONS WITH THE PROGRAM? BOTH.
UM, I'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, CORPORATE RECRUITMENT DURING MY PRESENTATION LATER IN THE SESSION.
UM, BUT AS YOU KNOW, SA WORKS IS, UH, NOT SOLELY RESPONSIBLE, BUT, UH, A BIG CONTRIBUTOR TO ENGAGING OUR CORPORATE COMMUNITY AND ALL OF OUR E D F INVESTORS AND, UH, THE VARIOUS TARGET SECTORS, UH, IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'RE FOCUSED ON CAREER PATHWAYS MARKETING, SO THERE'S OUTBOUND MARKETING, UH, TO OUR TARGET AUDIENCES, WHICH ARE DISPLACED WORKERS, AND THEN ALSO OUR, OUR YOUTH, OUR LOCAL YOUTH.
BUT TO DO THAT, WE'RE ENGAGING OUR CORPORATIONS TO HELP TELL THE STORY.
AND WE'RE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON OUR TARGET, UH, CORPORATION.
SO YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN, YOU KNOW, HOLT KATT AND SOME OF OUR OTHER MANUFACTURING ORGANIZATIONS OUT THERE TELLING THE STORY.
SO IT'S NOT JUST US OR THE CITY, UH, TELLING THE STORY.
AND THEN ON THE FLIP SIDE, UM, THERE'S ENGAGING THEM IN THE PRACTICAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.
AND THAT COMES THROUGH OUR BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION OUTREACH.
UH, SO WE WORK TO HAVE DIRECT VISITS WITH THESE DIFFERENT EMPLOYERS, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 200 OR SO, UH, PER YEAR.
UH, BUT THIS PAST YEAR, AND WHAT WE'LL CONTINUE DOING GOING FORWARD IS WE'VE HOSTED, UH, INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLES AS WELL, WORKING WITH GROUPS LIKE BIOMED SAN ANTONIO TO PULL TOGETHER THE BIOMED INDUSTRY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
AND NOT JUST TO OFFER THE SERVICES LIKE O J T, ET CETERA, UM, BUT ALSO TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK ON THE ACTUAL TRAINING PROGRAMS AND PROVIDERS AND THE NECESSARY SKILLSET THAT THEY NEED, UH, TO HIRE THESE FOLKS INTO THE WORKPLACE.
SO, UM, IT'S A LARGER CONVERSATION THAN I CAN ANSWER IN A 62ND SOUNDBITE, BUT HOPEFULLY THAT, UH, SHED SOME LIGHT ON HOW WE'RE ENGAGING THROUGH SA WORKS.
UM, AND I KNOW THE CITY HAS ADDITIONAL EFFORTS AS WELL.
SAY THAT AGAIN, COUNCIL MEMBER.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS, UM, ON THE ADDITIONAL, UM, UH, SERVICES FROM THE CITY ON THAT? I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER, WHAT WE ARE ALREADY DOING, AND YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THIS FROM THE, UM, THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WHEN, WHEN CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES LAST, UH, DECEMBER, WE DIDN'T MAKE VERY MANY CHANGES.
BUT ONE OF THE KEY CHANGES WE DID MAKE WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHENEVER WE'RE WORKING WITH A POTENTIAL, UM, A COMPANY INTERESTED IN THAT KIND OF INCENTIVE, UM, THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE PARTICIPATING IN SOME WAY IN THIS PROGRAM THAT THEY INTERVIEW THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE, THAT MEET THEIR ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE, AT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMPLETING THE TRAINING PROGRAM.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALSO INCORPORATING INTO THE PROGRAM, UM, THAT, THAT WE EXECUTE OUTSIDE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT COMPONENT THAT THIS PROGRAM IS TO ME, IS RETENTION.
THEY'RE GRADUATION, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROGRAM, THEY'RE STAYING THROUGH THE PROGRAM, THEY'RE GRADUATING, AND THEN THE CORPORATE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, INVOLVEMENT, RIGHT? TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LOCAL COMPANIES THAT WILL RETAIN THEM, UH, THESE PEOPLE IN SAN ANTONIO, RIGHT? THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE PROGRAM.
I, I I I, I, I UNDERSTAND JANET.
IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A QUICK CONVERSATION, SO I'D LIKE TO, TO TALK ABOUT IT MORE, BUT I ALSO WOULD LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CHAIR'S PERMISSION, THE NEXT TIME WE HAVE A A, AN UPDATE THAT IT, IT TALKS MORE ABOUT WHAT'S, WHAT, WHAT'S THE PLAN, THE LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE GONNA KEEP PEOPLE IN THE PROGRAM, HELP 'EM TO GRADUATE, AND HOW WE'RE GONNA HELP THEM GET JOBS, HOW THIS IS GONNA, UH, REALLY WORK, UH, FOR, FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
I'D LIKE TO SEE LIKE A DASHBOARD ON IT, I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT.
SO IF I CAN ADDRESS, UH, THE SOMEONE'S COMMENT, UM, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT SOLUTIONS ALAMO IS DOING, OF COURSE, WE'RE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OTHER PARTNERS.
UM, ONE IS WE PUSH OUR, UH, THE RESET BUTTON ON OUR BUSINESS SERVICES TEAM.
ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF AGO, THERE'S A NEW DEPUTY DIRECTOR, THERE'S WHOLE NEW TEAM THAT'S COMING ON BOARD.
UM, THE CITY COUNCIL AS WELL AS BEXAR COUNTY, AND THE, UH, CHIEF ELECTED OFFICIALS THROUGHOUT THE 13 COUNTY
[00:45:01]
REGION RECENTLY APPROVED, UH, THE LOCAL PLAN, UH, FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ALAMO, THAT PROMOTES A SECTOR BASED MODEL.SO THERE, THAT WILL SHOW SORT OF MUCH MORE CLEAR DIRECTION AND CONNECTIONS BETWEEN WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE TRAINING SIDE AND WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND HOW THAT'S CONNECTED TO, UH, THE SECTORS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE SUPPORTING.
UH, THERE ARE MANY, MANY ACTIVITIES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO.
UH, ONE THING, UH, THAT I'M GONNA ACTUALLY DO THAT'S TO SIGN OFF TO, TO DEMONSTRATE THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN, FOR EXAMPLE, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, ALAMO, UM, ALAMO COLLEGES, AND, UM, THE FOUNDATION AND SA WORKS IS SIGNING OFF ON A MILLION DOLLAR APPLICATION THAT ALAMO COLLEGES IS SUBMITTING TO TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION TO TRAIN, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE BE, UH, GONNA BE HIRED THROUGH NAVISTAR.
SO THAT'S A SEPARATE INITIATIVE, BUT NONETHELESS COULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, LAYERED WITH THIS PARTICULAR, UM, UH, INITIATIVE IN THIS INVESTMENT, RIGHT? BUT THAT DEMONSTRATES HOW WE'RE WORKING, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH, UM, MAJOR EMPLOYERS THAT ARE BEING RECRUITED BY THE FOUNDATION.
AND OF COURSE, UM, YOU KNOW, SKEWING UP, UH, ALAMO COLLEGES FOR THE TRAINING PURPOSES, UTILIZING WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CONNECTION TO TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION TO SECURE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS COMING IN.
SO, I KNOW IT'S A KIND OF A LONG WAY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, BUT THAT'S ONE, ONE PARTICULAR STRATEGY THAT'S VERY HELPFUL.
UM, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IS KIND OF THE, THE DEMONSTRATION OF THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM WORKING.
SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT, ADRIAN.
AND WE'LL TAKE THOSE, UM, THOSE NOTES.
AND, UH, SO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS LIKE LONG-TERM PLANS, JOB PLACEMENT, RETAINMENT IN SAN ANTONIO, AND IF WE TRAIN THEM THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE IN AREA THAT WE'RE GONNA HOLD ONTO THEM.
AND, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST GRADUATION, LIKE IF THEY'RE ADMITTED TO THE PROGRAM AND ARE WE SUPPORTING THEM ENOUGH SO THAT THEY STAY IN THE PROGRAM? AND THEN THAT'S THE FIRST STEP.
AND THEN I WOULD THINK NEXT, ARE WE ABLE TO HELP THEM? UH, I KIND OF WANNA TRACK THEM THROUGH THE STAGES OF THIS GRADUATION.
UM, I GUESS RETENTION CERTIFICATION.
I KNOW IF WRAPAROUND SERVICES ARE, ARE WORKING OR IF THERE'S MORE NEEDED, RIGHT? AND THEN GRADUATION AND THEN JOB PLACEMENT, AND THEN RETENTION IN SAN ANTONIO.
I KNOW THAT'S A TALL ORDER, BUT I THINK THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GONNA SEE IF THIS WORKS, YOU KNOW? NO, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
AND I THINK THAT'S ALSO EXPECTATIONS OF PROBABLY WHAT THE VOTERS WANNA SEE AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, YOU'RE NEXT.
AND, UM, SO ALEX, LEMME JUST START WITH SOME QUESTIONS.
JUST REVIEWING THE SLIDE, I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE WE WERE WAY OFF FROM ORIGINAL AND ACTUAL, UH, AND THEN THE PROJECTED, I MEAN, I I, SO ANY, SO IT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE ORIGINAL, YOU HAVE PROJECTED OR ORIGINAL, ACTUAL, AND THEN PROJECTED.
SO COULD YOU GO BACK TO SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS? UM, BECAUSE IT DOES SEEM LIKE EVEN FROM YOUR ACTUAL, YOUR PROJECTED IS VERY HIGH, GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ADJUSTING THE STRATEGY TO MORE LONG-TERM TRAINING.
SO I, I THINK THAT'S SLIDE SIX.
I'M, I'M TRYING TO FIND MY SLIDES AS WELL, BUT YES, SO I THINK THAT THE MAIN CHANGES THERE, THERE, THERE IS SOME PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES.
UM, THE MAIN ONE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHIFT BETWEEN LONG TERM AND SHORT TERM TRAINING.
UM, SO THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE, YOU SHOW, I MEAN, AGAIN, RIGHT? LIKE, SO RIGHT HERE, UM, SORRY, GIMME A MOMENT TO ADJUST MY SCREEN AS WELL.
'CAUSE I, UM, SO I CAN SEE THIS A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
SO I MEAN, AGAIN, SO YOU, YOU'RE WAY DOWN FROM YOUR ACTUAL, BUT THEN YOU HAVE YOUR PROJECTED VERY HIGHS.
SO WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THAT? I MEAN, YOU, YOU'RE SAYING THAT EVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, THE LONG-TERM TRAINING, UM, SHIFT, BUT THAT EVEN STILL SEEMS HIGH.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE HAD SOME VERY EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF THE PARTNERS ON THIS CALL TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE PROJECTING MOVING FORWARD, UM, THEY ALL FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THEY CAN BE ATTAINED.
AND PART OF THE REASON WHY THE ACTUALS THAT YOU SEE IN THE, IN THAT, IN THAT THIRD COLUMN ARE STILL SO LOW IS BECAUSE THEY INCLUDE A COUPLE OF MONTHS OF RAMP UP, WHICH NOW WE'RE, WE'RE VERY, ALL OF THE PARTNERS ARE VERY MUCH UP AND RUNNING, UM, AND, AND ANTICIPATE BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE AT THAT SPEED.
[00:50:01]
SO IT'S NOT GONNA BE EXACTLY A DUPLICATE OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS, WHAT WE'RE GONNA SEE THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS.SO, UM, I, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, HERE'S, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW I'M FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE PARTNERS, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S NEW TO, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS SPACE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S BEEN HERE A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
I THINK QUEST JUST CELEBRATED 25 YEARS.
SO, UM, AND, AND YEAH, I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THE OTHERS, BUT WORKFORCE ALAMO HAS TO BE ALSO MANY, MANY YEARS.
UM, I, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, WE SORT OF HAVE THE DISCUSSION.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW LONG THE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN AROUND IN A VARIETY OF FORMATS.
I RECOGNIZE THERE'S BEEN LOTS OF TRANSITION.
UM, AND, AND EVEN IN THE DEPARTMENT, THEY'VE HAD A LOT OF TRANSITION OR IN, IN THE ORGANIZATION THEY'VE HAD A LOT OF TRANSITION.
IN FACT, EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL IN EIGHT YEARS, I THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN AT LEAST SIX DIRECTORS THERE.
SO I, I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE HAVING SOME, UM, YOU'VE HAD SOME LEADERSHIP ISSUES, BUT, UM, I, I GUESS I JUST, I'M, I'M NOT, I I DON'T SEE HOW YOU'RE GONNA GET TO THE NUMBERS THAT YOU'RE PROJECTING GIVEN THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE PRESENTED.
AND JUST EVEN GIVEN THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE NOT NEW ORGANIZATIONS.
I MEAN, EVEN THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, I MEAN, SO, I MEAN, AND IN FACT, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL JUST, I'LL PICK A LITTLE BIT ON PROJECT QUEST, UM, ONLY BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT THAT MORE THAN HALF OF THE, IN THE PEOPLE THAT APPLY TO PROJECT QUEST, I WANNA SAY IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 70 OR 80% ARE ACTUALLY TURNED AWAY BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT PREPARED.
SO ARE YOU THEN REDIRECTING THOSE PEOPLE TO OTHER, UM, ORGANIZATIONS? AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, DAVID, I GUESS YOU CAN TAKE THAT ANSWER, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING THAT LIKE 10, YOU KNOW, THAT QUITE A BIT OF PEOPLE ARE TURNED AWAY BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT READY.
SO COUNCILMAN, THANK YOU FOR THE, THE QUESTION, AND I THINK IT'S PROBABLY APPROPRIATE THAT I HAVE A CHANCE TO JUST KIND OF SET THE STAGE FOR YOUR CONCERNS.
'CAUSE ALEX HAS SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH US IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
BUT ON YOUR LAST POINT THERE, NOT TO THE DEGREE, YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT THERE IS A TURNOUT, A TURN AWAY RATE FOR PROJECT QUEST, NOT ANYWHERE NEAR THAT SUGGESTED NUMBER YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
I WOULD PROBABLY FLIP THAT DRAMATICALLY THAT WE TAKE, UH, AND HAVE A VERY GOOD INPUT AND INTAKE PROCESS, BUT WE'RE NOT TURNING AWAY.
NOW, IF THEY'RE NOT EQUIPPED FOR, FROM AN EDUCATIONAL STANDPOINT, THEY'LL BE REROUTED THROUGH OUR QUEST QUEST PROGRAM TO LIKE RESTORE EDUCATION FOR REMEDIAL TRAINING, AND WE'LL STAY WITH THEM UNTIL THEY FINISH KELLY'S PROGRAM AND THEN BRING THEM BACK IN TO THE FOLD.
SO IF THEY'RE ACADEMICALLY NOT UP TO SPEED, WE'LL ROUTE THEM TO THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIP TO GET THEM ON THE TRACK FOR THE PROGRAM.
BUT PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD JUST SAY, NO, YOU'RE NOT RIGHT FOR THE PROGRAM.
UH, THAT'S A VERY, VERY SMALL NUMBER.
WE ACTUALLY WORK VERY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN GET ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES.
SO THAT, THAT'S ONE ALSO, I MEAN, CAN, CAN, CAN YOU TELL, I MEAN, WHAT I FELT LIKE THAT WAS IN YOUR REPORT MM-HMM.
SO I DON'T, COULD YOU GET THAT? BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AND, AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SURE.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN PICK UP THOSE PEOPLE.
UM, AND, AND I MEAN, I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT PROJECT QUEST IS, IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TAKING PEOPLE THAT ARE AT A CERTAIN LEVEL AND, AND TAKING THEM TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
AND SO THAT'S THE PROBABLY MOST IMPORTANT PART IS WE DO REROUTE THEM TO GET THE REMEDIATION THAT THEY NEED TO GET INTO THE PROGRAM.
AND, AND I'LL BE HONEST, AND I, I'LL HAVE TO PULL, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT PERCENTAGE FOR YOU, BUT I'LL TAKE THIS AS AN ACTION TO GIVE YOU THAT PERCENTAGE SO WE CAN BE ON THE SAME PAGE, BUT WE TAKE FAR MORE, AND YES, NOT EVERYBODY MAKES IT THROUGH ALL THE GATES, BUT THE TURN AWAY RATE, IF YOU WANT TO, THE TURNAROUND TURN AWAY IS, IS NOT IN THE SUGGESTED, UH, RANGE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WELL, UM, I'LL, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT, THAT HOPEFULLY YOU'RE REROUTING THEM TO ONE OF THESE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE ALREADY FUNDING THEM, OR YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD A PREP PROGRAM, SO I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T HEARD OF THAT BEFORE.
OUR QUEST PREP IS, IS THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT IT INTERNALLY, BUT THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT
[00:55:01]
REALLY END UP IN KELLY IN RESTORE EDUCATION'S CLASSROOMS. SO IN, IN THEIR CASE, THEY'RE NOT READY FOR THE QUEST PROGRAM.THEY NEED REMEDIATION TRAINING.
THEY'LL BE PARTNERED WITH RESTORE EDUCATION, THEY'LL BE IN ONE OF KELLY'S, UH, CLASSROOMS, AND THEN WHEN THEY FINISH THAT REMEDIATION AND THEY'RE UP TO SPEED, THEY'LL BE REROUTED BACK INTO QUEST.
SO IT'S, IT'S A MATTER OF, IF THEY'RE NOT READY, WE FIND 'EM THE PLACE TO GET THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO GET THEMSELVES READY.
WELL, I, I, I THINK THAT'S ALL REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE ONCE I THINK IT SEEMS LIKE THE, WHAT I HAVE UNDERSTOOD IS LIKE THE MOST CRITICAL PIECE IS MAKING THAT CONTACT.
SO ONCE YOU HAVE THAT CONTACT AND THEY'RE SORT OF IN YOUR QUEUE, OR THEY'RE LIKE IN YOUR DATABASE, YOU CAN CONTINUE TO REACH OUT.
I MEAN, JUST LIKE FOR FOR EVERY, I MEAN FOR EVERY PROGRAM, YES.
UM, UH, I MEAN, I KNOW THAT EVEN, YOU KNOW, WITH FAMILY SERVICES, AGAIN, BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO BE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THEIR PROGRAM.
ONCE, ONCE THEY'RE THERE, YOU CAN CONNECT THEM TO THE RESOURCES.
SO, UM, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I JUST GET TO SOME OF MY QUESTIONS, BUT I, IF YOU COULD FOLLOW UP WITH THAT, UM, DAVID, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, UM, I, YOU KNOW, LIKE I'M, I'M JUST CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT I'M SEEING HERE ABOUT ACTUAL ORIGINAL ACTUALS AND PROJECTED, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE WAY, WE WERE WAY OFF THE MARK AND, AND WE ARE WAY OFF THE MARK WITH WHAT WE ORIGINALLY EXPECTED.
NOW WE'RE SHOWING SOME, UM, UM, ACTUALS, AND THEN WE'RE PROJECTING SOMETHING THAT I DON'T SEE HOW THIS IS REALISTIC GIVEN THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE.
AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, JUST GIVEN THE FACT THAT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A SLOW, IT'S BEEN, I KNOW IT'S, I MEAN, IT'S, THINGS HAVE BEEN SO UNPREDICTABLE MM-HMM.
UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE TARGETED EFFORTS BASED ON THE POVERTY REPORT AND THE STATUS OF WOMEN REPORT, UH, WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART IT'S WOMEN AND ESPECIALLY POOR WOMEN THAT WERE BEING, UM, THAT HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS.
BUT YET I DON'T SEE THAT REAL TARGETED EFFORT IN THESE PROGRAMS. COUNCIL, AND I'M SORRY, I KNOW I CALLED ON YOU, DAVID, BUT I I, IT WASN'T EXCLUSIVELY TO YOU.
I'M ACTUALLY GLAD YOU, I'M ACTUALLY GLAD YOU DID.
IF I CAN JUST RESPOND ON BEHALF OF US.
BUT I THINK IT MAY ALSO APPLY TO THE PARTNERS, THE NUMBERS YOU'RE SEEING.
AND, AND I'LL SPEAK OF FROM THIS PROJECT QUEST STANDPOINT.
WE THOUGHT THE, UH, THE NUMBERS ARE VERY ACCURATE.
AND WHILE YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN OUR NUMBERS, WHEN WE BUILT OUR PLAN BACK IN THE SUMMER OF LAST YEAR, MAY AND JUNE, THERE WAS A WHOLE SET OF ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE, UH, THE, THE MAKEUP OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT, UH, COMMUNITY AND WHERE THEY WERE GONNA RUSH INTO TAKE THE GOVERNMENT.
AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE PROGRAM LAUNCHED ON OCTOBER, ON, UH, ON AUGUST 31ST.
AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE OUTREACH OR MARKETING IN THAT SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME.
SO TO MAKE THAT UP, IN MY OPINION, IS VERY CHALLENGING.
FROM A QUEST STANDPOINT, WE'VE HAD FANTASTIC NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, RECORD NUMBERS OF ENROLLMENTS, I'LL JUST QUOTE THIS MONTH RIGHT NOW, WE HAD 176 ENROLLMENTS IN FEBRUARY.
120 OF THOSE WERE RETAINED FOR JOBS SA LAST MONTH.
WE'VE ENROLLED ALMOST 400 PEOPLE JUST IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS, AND THAT'S DECEMBER OR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
SO OUR NUMBERS AND THE MOMENTUM CONTINUES TO BUILD.
AND I THINK IT'S JUST A REACTION THAT WE ALL GOT OUT OF THE GATE SLOW BECAUSE OF MAYBE COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND INTEREST.
SO THE EXPECTATIONS OF A QUICK RAMP UP IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER REALLY DIDN'T HAPPEN.
BUT FOR ALL THE PROGRAMS, YOU CAN SEE THE MOMENTUM BUILDING, AND I'LL SPEAK FOR PROJECT QUEST.
WE ARE, WE ARE DOING A, A FANTASTIC JOB WITH THE DIGITAL MARKET.
I'M TALKING ABOUT WE GET HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN OUR, UH, Q I S SESSIONS EVERY SINGLE MONTH.
SO I'M CONFIDENT, LIKE I THINK THE OTHER PROGRAMS ARE THAT WE'RE OPTIMISTIC OF THE NUMBERS WE'VE RESET BASED ON THE MOMENTUM THAT WE ARE SEEING IS, IS VERY ACHIEVABLE FROM WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
AND, BUT WE'RE, IT'S HARD TO MAKE UP FOR THE SLOW START.
THAT'S WHY OUR NUMBERS CHANGE FOR THE MOST PART.
AND AGAIN, I'M, I'M, I'M ASSUMING OTHER PARTNERS MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT STORY, BUT MAYBE SOMETHING SIMILAR, BUT I, I FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW AND THE TRENDING LINE THAT'S GOING, THAT'S HAPPENING.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME RESPOND.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I, I'M HOPEFUL TOO BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE WANT, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
[01:00:01]
WANNA CONNECT TO SERVICES, BUT I GUESS I, I DIDN'T HEAR THE, UM, FROM THE PARTNERS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS REALITY THAT IT'S MOSTLY WOMEN AND THAT THE EMPHASIS ON THE JOBS AND THE OUTREACH IS THAT TARGETED EFFORT AS WELL.SO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, UH, UM, UH, I, I WANT TO, UM, COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, SORT OF A LOT OF OPEN DISCUSSION, BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M HOPING THAT WE'RE MAKING THAT CONNECTION.
I, I, I DON'T SEE IT IN THE TODAY'S PRESENTATION SUGGEST THAT WE PROVIDE THAT.
WE NEED THE DEMOGRAPHICS, IF YOU CAN PLEASE.
DEMOGRAPHICS OF WHERE WE'RE HITTING THOSE MARKS WITH OUR PARTNERS AND OF THOSE NUMBERS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN ENROLLED, WE'D LIKE TO SEE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF HOW WE ARE MEETING THAT TARGET AUDIENCE.
UH, OF WOMEN AND OF, UH, OF THOSE ISSUES THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS MENTIONING.
UM, CHAIR, I, I THINK YOU EXPLAINED IT REALLY WELL.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE NEED TO SEE, BECAUSE THERE WAS ALSO A WHOLE DISCUSSION OF, OF THE JAIL POPULATION, AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT I THINK THOSE ARE ALSO PREDOMINANTLY NONE.
SO LOOKING FOR THAT INFORMATION IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION, OF COURSE, I'M EQUALLY HOPEFUL, UM, THAT THE NUMBERS, UM, ARE WHERE WE SAY THEY ARE, THAT I, YOU KNOW, I GUESS WE'LL SEE AS WE CONTINUE ALONG AND, AND THINGS CONTINUE TO LOOK BETTER.
UM, AND, UH, UH, SO I'LL TURN IT OVER.
THANK YOU, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
THIS HAS A BEEN REALLY GREAT DIALOGUE AND REALLY GOOD INFORMATION.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I THINK YOU ALL COVERED IT VERY WELL, UM, WITH THE, UH, MARKET OF ESSAY WORKS, I THINK IF JENNA'S STILL ON WHERE IT SAYS MARKET PARTICIPANTS TO LOCAL EMPLOYERS, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I WANT TO KNOW HOW, UM, I'D LOVE TO GET MORE OF THOSE DETAILS OF HOW WE ARE GOING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILD THAT OUT, MARKETING THE PARTICIPANTS TO LOCAL EMPLOYERS AND HOW SA WORKS.
WE'LL BE WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR PROGRAM, UH, OUR PROGRAM PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THOSE, UM, PARTICIPANTS TO THE LOCAL EMPLOYERS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD RIGHT NOW, OR WE'LL WAIT FOR LATER? YEAH, I THINK, UH, IT'S PROBABLY A MORE ROBUST CONVERSATION.
THE DATABASE THAT ALEX WAS MENTIONING IS GOING TO HELP US WITH THOSE CONNECTIONS.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'S WORTH A FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATION.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO FOR OUR READY TO WORK SA PROGRAM, ALEX, YOU KNOW, UM, THE POLICY CONSIDERATIONS, AND I KNOW THEY WERE KIND OF FOUNDATIONAL CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING, UH, THE TARGET POPULATIONS WITH WHICH COUNCILWOMAN, UM, ALREADY MENTIONED, AND THEN ALSO, UM, UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED.
WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE THOSE, UH, MORE IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS AS WELL AS, UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TARGET INDUSTRIES, A MIX BETWEEN CURRENT AND FUTURE INDUSTRIES TOO, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET PEOPLE WHO ARE DESPERATE FOR A JOB INTO A JOB QUICKLY, UM, OR AT THEIR, HOW THEY'RE CHOOSING THEIR PACE, UM, BUT THEN ALSO FOR CAREER ADVANCEMENT AND REALLY BRING THAT SOC SOCIOECONOMIC MOBILITY THAT WE NEED TO LIFT EVERYBODY UP BECAUSE THE THING GOES, WE'RE NOT ALL IN THE SAME BOAT, WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME STORM.
SO LET'S GET US THROUGH, UM, THIS STORM IN WHATEVER PATHWAY WE NEED TO GET THROUGH.
AND, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, I LIKE THE IDEA WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CAB HDA, AND IF WE ALSO HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING THAT A PART OF OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR R F P, UM, SOLICITATION OR JUST DIALOGUE WHEN THEY'RE HAVING QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS WITH THOSE WHO ARE CONSIDERING RFPS ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE EITHER PARTNERING IN MARKETING OR THE JOB PLACEMENTS OR THE RETENTION CONVERSATION.
SO, UM, GREAT CONVERSATION HERE.
I THINK I NEED TO PUSH, YEAH, IF I COULD WANNA ADD ONE THING.
WE, WE DO HAVE A BACKUP SIDE WITH DEMOGRAPHICS, AND I KNOW WE NEED TO MOVE ON, BUT WE CAN SHARE THAT NOW WITH YOU, OR WE CAN SHARE THAT EVEN VIA EMAIL TO YOU NOW.
WELL, YEAH, GO AHEAD AND SHOW ME THAT.
UM, THE, AND THIS IS FOR OUR TRAIN FOR JOBS SA PROGRAM SO FAR.
AND THEN, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, WE HAVE ABOUT 1400 PEOPLE PENDING ENROLLMENT TODAY.
SO THESE NUMBERS OF 1300 OR SO, THEY'RE GONNA CHANGE PRETTY QUICKLY.
[01:05:05]
AND SO WE ARE ALREADY SEEING A VERY STRONG FOCUS ON WOMEN ACCESSING THE PROGRAM, WHICH IS GREAT BECAUSE WE'RE ALSO HEARING AND, AND SEEING THE DATA ABOUT WOMEN EXITING THE, THE, UM, THE WORKFORCE.SO WE'RE GLAD TO SEE THAT WOMEN ARE ACCESSING THIS PROGRAM AS A, AS A RESKILLING AND UPSKILLING OPPORTUNITY.
AND WE'LL SEND THIS SLIDE, UH, THIS DEMOGRAPHIC SLIDE, AS WELL AS THE ENROLLMENT PIPELINE AS OF FEBRUARY 1ST TO ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AS WELL, SO WE CAN HAVE IT.
SO, UM, SO I WOULD, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE CHANGES TO OUR, UM, OUR PARTNERS PROGRAMS BECAUSE WE'VE KIND OF ALREADY REALLOCATED THE MONEY TO LAST TWO WEEKS AGO AS WELL.
IS THIS GOING TO, IS THIS GOING TO A FULL COUNCIL CONSIDERATION, BUT YOU JUST WANTED TO GET, DID YOU WANT US TO GET OUR DIRECTION OR OUR APPROVAL FOR THIS MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD? COUNCILOR, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU WOULD, IF YOU WOULD GIVE THE MOTION.
UH, IT WOULD JUST BE DONE HERE THROUGH THE COUNCIL COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
WE'RE GETTING ALL THIS WORK DONE.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE, UH, CHANGES TO OUR PARTNER, UH, CONTRACTS, OUR PARTNER PROGRAMS. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY TO OUR PARTNERS.
WE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO, SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
[2. 21-1889 A briefing and possible action on consideration of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation 2021 Services Agreement and Business Plan. [Carlos J. Contreras, III; Assistant City Manager; Alejandra Lopez, Director, Economic Development]]
TO OUR NEXT ITEM.IT'S A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CONSIDERATION OF THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION 2021 SERVICES AGREEMENT AND BUSINESS PLAN.
SO DO I WANNA GIVE IT TO ALEX FIRST TO PITCH IT? ACTUALLY, JUSTINA'S GONNA INTRODUCE THIS ITEM.
THE NEXT ITEM IS A BRIEFING ON THE PROPOSED THREE YEAR S A E D S OR, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION OPERATIONS PLAN AND ANNUAL GOALS.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, FROM 2017 TO 2020, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY AND ADDITIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS EXECUTED THE FOREFRONT ESSAY STRATEGY PLAN.
THIS LED TO THE CREATION OF OVER 17,000 JOBS AND A TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT OF ABOUT $2.2 BILLION.
NOW, OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS SET OUT TO DEVELOP A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT MONTHS, A NEW STRATEGY WAS DEVELOPED.
THE OPERATIONS PLAN, WHICH WILL BE DISCUSSED TODAY, INCLUDES THREE PILLARS SUPPORTING THE REGION'S ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS TO INCLUDE JOBS, PEOPLE IN PLACE WITH ASSOCIATED INITIATIVES AND ACTIVITIES OUTLINED.
THE OPERATIONS PLAN IS OVER A COURSE OF THREE YEARS, AND THEREFORE THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING A CONTRACT OF UP TO THREE YEARS TO COINCIDE WITH THIS PLAN, AN ANNUAL AMOUNT OF $635,000 PER YEAR.
ADDITIONALLY, I WANTED TO NOTE THAT THE CITY'S FUNDS WILL BE USED TO SPONSOR, UH, MEMBERSHIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES OWNED BY WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR, WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING THE DIVERSITY OF, OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION'S MEMBERS.
SO TODAY, UH, JENNA CETO, PRESIDENT OF C E O, UH, PRESIDENT AND C E O OF THE ECONOMIC DEV DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION WILL BE PRESENTING ON THE OPERATIONS PLAN AS WELL AS THE THREE YEAR GOALS.
WELL, I THINK JUSTINA DID SUCH A GREAT JOB.
UH, MY WORK IS TECHNICALLY DONE HERE.
UH, IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, THOUGH, AS, UH, CHAIRWOMAN VIA GRAND MENTIONED, UH, THIS IS MY SECOND DAY BACK IN THE, UH, HOME OFFICE AFTER MY MATERNITY LEAVE, AND IT IS JUST SO GREAT TO BE HERE WITH YOU GUYS.
UH, I WAS CRAVING INTERACTION, UH, WITH ADULTS, UH, TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST.
SO THANK YOU FOR SCHEDULING THIS, ALEX AND, AND CARLOS, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, FOR ALLOWING US, UH, TIME FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PREVIOUS, UH, DISCUSSION.
BUT THEN, OF COURSE, UH, TO PRESENT OUR OPERATIONS PLAN TO YOU, UH, AND ENGAGE IN IN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
SO, TODAY, AS, UH, JUSTINA MENTIONED, UH, WE'RE GOING TO TALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION, UH, HOW WE ARRIVED AT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT
[01:10:01]
WE'RE REALLY GOING TO DIVE INTO A BIT MORE DETAIL, UH, ON THAT OPERATIONS PLAN IN HOPES THAT WE CAN OBTAIN, UH, YOUR RECOMMENDATION FOR APPROVAL OF OUR SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH THE E D D.UM, AS I MENTIONED, OUR ORGANIZATION, UH, HAS EVOLVED SIGNIFICANTLY IN RECENT YEARS, UH, WITH THE ACQUISITION OF THE FREE TRADE ALLIANCE AND THE INTEGRATION OF SA WORKS.
UM, BUT IN ALL OF THAT, OUR MISSION HAS REMAINED THE SAME.
WE CONTINUE TO BE FOCUSED ON JOBS, ON PRODUCING JOBS AND RETAINING JOBS IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.
WE DO THAT PRIMARILY BY DELIVERING ON THREE LINES OF BUSINESS, CORPORATE RECRUITMENT OR BUSINESS ATTRACTION, BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION, WHICH WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IN THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATION.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
SO IN ALL OF THE TRANSITION, UH, WE HAVE STILL, UH, BEEN ABLE TO PERFORM, UH, AND ACHIEVE SUCCESS AS JUSTINA MENTIONED THROUGH OUR PREVIOUS STRATEGIC PLAN FOR FRONT SAN ANTONIO.
SO SINCE 2017 ALONE, WE'VE WORKED OVER 84 PROJECTS.
WE'VE ACTUALLY WORKED A LOT MORE.
UM, BUT WE'VE WON 84 PROJECTS AND WE HAVE SECURED OVER 18,000 JOBS, UH, FOR THE LOCAL SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY.
BUT WE STILL HAVE MORE WORK TO DO, AND WE WANTED TO TAKE OUR, UH, ORGANIZATION AND OUR DELIVERY SYSTEMS UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
UM, AND THAT'S WHERE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN COMES INTO PLAY.
SO THIS SLIDE GOES INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT OUR, UH, 2017 PERFORMANCE TO PLAN.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, 2020 WAS A DOOZY OF A YEAR.
2019 WAS A GREAT PERFORMING YEAR FOR OUR ORGANIZATION.
UM, BUT IN, IN 2020, WE FELL SHORT OF HITTING OUR CORPORATE RECRUITMENT, UH, JOB NUMBERS.
AND SO YOU SEE THAT REFLECTED HERE, UH, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO EXCEED, UH, AND ACHIEVE THE OTHER GOALS IN OUR, UH, K P I MATRIX HERE.
SO, REGARDING THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AS JUSTINA MENTIONED, UH, REALLY WE WORKED OVER ABOUT A COUPLE OF YEARS.
THERE WAS A PLANNING PROCESS, AND THEN WE ACTUALLY HAD TO, UH, WORK TO EVOLVE THE ORGANIZATION TO PREPARE TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
UH, YOU'LL HEAR ME SAY THIS A LOT, BUT AT THE E D F, WE DON'T PREPARE SLICK UP STRATEGIES THAT SIT ON SHELVES.
UH, WE TAKE THOSE STRATEGIC PLANS, WE TAKE THOSE DOCUMENTS, AND WE'VE GOTTA OPERATIONALIZE THEM.
THAT MEANS, UH, RESTRUCTURING THE TEAM WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS AREAS.
THAT MEANS REALIGNING OUR BUDGET ALLOCATIONS, OUR TIME ALLOCATIONS, ET CETERA.
AND WE'VE WORKED OVER THE LAST, UH, COUPLE OF MONTHS TO DO JUST THAT.
UH, IT ALSO INCLUDED A SIGNIFICANT GOVERNANCE TRANSITION FOR OUR ORGANIZATION.
AND AS YOU SAW IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WITH THAT GOVERNANCE TRANSITION, WE ALSO LAYERED IN, UH, DIVERSITY AS A PRIORITY THERE.
AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, THE CITY STAFF THERE AS WELL.
BUT IN, IN, UM, UH, AN ATTEMPT TO GENERALIZE HERE, OUR HYPOTHESIS AND OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS WAS PRETTY SIMPLE.
UH, WE DECIDED THAT IF WE WANTED TO WORK BIGGER AND BETTER DEALS, IF WE WANTED TO SECURE HIGHER QUALITY JOBS FOR THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY, THAT WE NEEDED TO REALLY FOCUS ON INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE AND INVESTING IN OUR PLACE.
AND IN DOING SO, WE WOULD PROMOTE ECONOMIC MOBILITY FOR THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY.
SO, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT JOBS.
AS I MENTIONED, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON JOBS SINCE WE WERE CREATED OVER 45 YEARS AGO NOW, BUT WE'VE BEEN PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE TRANSACTIONAL ELEMENT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND DEAL MAKING.
THAT'S WHAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO DO.
BUT IN ORDER TO TAKE THOSE EFFORTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL, WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON TRUE CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT AROUND OUR TARGET SECTOR INDUSTRIES.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE DEPLOYING A CO-MARKETING EFFORT WITH OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, UH, TO ENHANCE THE STORY THAT WE'RE TELLING AND, UH, REALLY JUST STRENGTHEN THE VALUE PROPOSITION THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT.
AND THEN AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION.
UH, I WON'T BELABOR THE POINT HERE, BUT IN 2020, WE REALLY SCALED OUR RETENTION AND EXPANSION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, AND WE ONLY WANNA TAKE THAT TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN 2021 AND BEYOND.
UH, COVID BROUGHT ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT CHALLENGES FOR US, BUT AS A COMMUNITY, WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY RALLY AROUND, UM, THE NEED TO SUPPORT LOCAL SAN ANTONIANS AND SPECIFICALLY DISPLACED WORKERS AS WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF OF CONVERSATION AROUND HOW WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR B R E SERVICES, UH, TO PROVIDE, UH, SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE NEED, UM, FOR THOSE DISPLACED WORKERS AND FOR THE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE ALSO BEEN IMPACTED.
ON THE PEOPLE FRONT, UH, WE JUST SPENT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION TALKING ABOUT SA READY TO WORK, UM, SA READY TO WORK
[01:15:01]
AND SA WORKS' ROLE, UH, IN PROMOTING EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT.UM, BUT OUR SA WORKS TEAM ALSO DOES A LOT AROUND, UH, WORK-BASED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES.
IN FACT, THIS WEEK IS OUR JOB SHADOW WEEK, AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED.
I CAME BACK JUST YESTERDAY, RIGHT? AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED WHEN I SAW THE TEAM REPORT THAT WE HAD SIGNED UP OVER 12,000.
THE NUMBERS ACTUALLY 12,800 LOCAL STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN JOB SHADOW DAY.
THAT'S A HUGE DEAL FOR US AS WE CONTINUE TO ENGAGE ADDITIONAL PARTNERS.
UM, AND ALSO OVER 50 COMPANIES THAT PROVIDED CONTENT AND PRERECORDED VIDEOS TO ENGAGE WITH US AS WELL IN JOB SHADOW DAY.
UH, SO THE WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAMS WILL CONTINUE TO EXIST, AND AGAIN, WE CONTINUE TO GROW THOSE, AS YOU'VE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS.
UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE ADDING HERE IN THE 2021 PLAN IS A TALENT RETENTION PLAY.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE DEVELOPING, UH, WITH OUR PEOPLE TEAM.
WE'RE GOING TO BE DEVELOPING A PROGRAM THAT'S TARGETED AT RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES AND REALLY BUILDING UP THAT NETWORK THAT CAN CONNECTS THEM TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, GEEKDOM HAS DONE A LOT IN THIS SPACE, BUT WE TRULY WANT TO TARGET THOSE, UH, COLLEGE GRADUATES AND MAKE SURE THAT, JUST LIKE WE'RE CONNECTING DISPLACED WORKERS AND WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO TARGET, UH, YOUTH IN ADVANCE OF, UH, THEIR COLLEGIATE CAREERS, WE REALLY WANNA FOCUS HEAVILY ON THOSE GRADUATES AS WELL.
THE PLACE ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO, UH, IS RELATIVELY NEW TO OUR ORGANIZATION.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST IS WE'VE MARKETED THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY, AS YOU ALL KNOW.
UM, BUT THE PLAN IS TRULY TO SCALE UP THOSE EFFORTS.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE MORE TARGETED IN THOSE GEOGRAPHIES AND WITH A SPECIFIC AUDIENCES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TOUCH.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE CONTINUE TO REFINE THE STORY THAT WE'RE TELLING, UH, BY LEVERAGING COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO INFORM, UH, WHAT THAT MESSAGE SPECIFICALLY IS THROUGH OUR PLACE TEAM.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, AS CARLOS KNOWS, UH, WE'RE ALSO ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THE AIRPORT TEAM TO SUPPORT THEIR MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.
AND THAT INCLUDES, UM, OUR TEAM SPENDING TIME AND ENERGY AND SUPPORTING WHAT THEY DO AND POTENTIALLY ALSO, UH, FINANCIAL RESOURCES DOWNSTREAM, UH, AS OUR PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, VOLUNTEER, UH, VOLUNTEERS CONTINUE TO FUNDRAISE, UM, AND, AND HELP US GROW OUR E D F BUDGET.
AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, INDUSTRY CLUSTERS, UH, EARLIER AND OUR SUPPORTIVE REGIONAL CENTERS OR THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, UM, THAT IN INFLUENCES, UH, INDUSTRY CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT IS WHAT'S CAPTURED HERE ON THE SUPPORT OF REGIONAL CENTERS UNDER OUR PLACE TEAM.
AND THEN OF COURSE, YOU SEE THIS GREAT AD.
I DID NOT PUT THIS PRESENTATION TOGETHER.
CLEARLY, IT WAS SOMEONE MORE TALENTED, UH, THAN I, UH, BUT THIS AD IS ACTUALLY RUNNING IN THE BAY AREA RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE PLACED AN ADVERTORIAL, AND WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT AS A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, WE PLACED AN ADVERTORIAL IN THE SAN FRANCISCO TIMES.
THE BAY AREA, AS YOU KNOW, IS ONE OF OUR KEY MARKETS.
AND, UH, WE AUTHORED, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RANDY SMITH FROM WESTERN URBAN, UH, A PIECE ON WHAT DIFFERENT DIFFERENTIATES SAN ANTONIO FOR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS SPECIFICALLY.
UM, AND SO I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT CONTENT WITH YOU.
UM, BUT THIS WAS THE AD, UM, THAT TOOK UP SOME REAL ESTATE IN THAT ADVERTORIAL.
SO ALL OF OUR WORK, ALL OF OUR PLANNING AND ALL OF OUR EXECUTION IS FOR NOT, IF WE'RE NOT TRACKING OUR PERFORMANCE.
UM, AND WE HAVE DONE THAT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT IN 2021? UM, WELL, I SHOULD SAY THERE ARE ACTUALLY SOME DISCREET, UH, KPI I OPERATIONAL KPIS THAT WE'VE ADDED AND, AND THOSE THAT WE'VE REFINED IN SETTING STRETCH TARGETS.
BUT WHAT'S DIFFERENT OR ADDITIVE THIS YEAR IS THAT WE'RE ALSO INCLUDING A DASHBOARD, A COMPETITIVE DASHBOARD OF INDICATORS THAT MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY BE DIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY THE E D F, BUT THEY ARE CERTAINLY INDIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT WE DO.
THIS DASHBOARD WILL SHOWCASE SAN ANTONIO'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST A COMP SET OF OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
UM, IT WILL SHOW, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE DIVING INTO JOBS, PEOPLE PLACE AND INNOVATION, UM, AS OUR AREAS OF FOCUS, BUT IT'LL SHOW INDICATORS, UH, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, GROWTH OF WAGES.
IT'LL SHOW INDICATORS, UH, LIKE, UH, INCOME GROWTH, RIGHT BY, UH, PER CAPITA.
THOSE TYPES OF EQUITY INDICATORS THAT ALSO SHOW IF WE'RE TRULY MOVING THE NEEDLE IN THE LONG TERM, IF WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY, THE JOBS THAT WE'RE SECURING TODAY, UM, AND PRIORITIZING TODAY WILL TRULY IMPACT ECONOMIC MOBILITY IN THE LONG TERM.
UH, SO WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
UH, WE ACTUALLY DON'T STACK UP VERY WELL, UM, ON SOME OF THESE INDICATORS.
SO THIS DASHBOARD ISN'T GOING TO BE VERY PRETTY, UH, THIS FIRST YEAR WHEN WE DEPLOY IT.
BUT AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, IF WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS, UH, WE SHOULD BE IMPROVING THOSE OVERALL INDICATORS IN THE LONGER TERM.
THIS IS OUR DETAILED OPERATIONAL SCORECARD AS AN ORGANIZATION.
SO WE'VE GOT THE HIGHER LEVEL DASHBOARD, WHICH WILL BE, UH, ACTUALLY INTERACTIVE, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE IN OUR INVESTOR PORTAL.
UH, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A DETAILED SCORECARD WHERE WE TRACK,
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UH, PERFORMANCE.UM, YOU'LL SEE HERE, YOU KNOW, NEW JOBS ISN'T A NEW INDICATOR, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER NEW INDICATORS, LIKE PERCENTAGE OF JOBS WITH WAGES HIGHER THAN THE MEDIAN FOR THE ZIP CODE.
UH, AS WE WORK TO PRIORITIZE PROJECTS THAT WE GET, WE WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING THOSE THAT WOULD MOVE THE NEEDLE SPECIFICALLY IN YOUR DISTRICTS, UM, BECAUSE IT VARIES RIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO THAT'S A NEW INDICATOR FOR US.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'RE ALSO TRACKING, UH, REGIONAL PROJECTS ONE SEPARATELY, RIGHT? SEPARATE FROM WHAT WE'RE WORKING HERE WITHIN SAN ANTONIO PROPER.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THESE DETAILED INDICATORS, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
I'LL ADD THAT WE HAVE EXPANDED THE INDICATORS AND WE'VE ALSO, UH, STRETCHED THE TARGETS, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE HOPING THAT THROUGH OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS, UH, WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO INVEST, UM, BUT ALSO INCREASE OUR INVESTMENTS.
AND THEN LASTLY, AS ALWAYS, UH, WE ARE HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, AND REQUEST FOLLOW UP, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO REPORT OUT REGULARLY WITH ALEX AND TEAM, UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, REPORT OUT TO YOU AS WE MAKE PROGRESS, UH, TOWARDS OPERATIONALIZING THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND CHAIRWOMAN VRAN.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
AND SO, JUSTINA, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING US TODAY IS TO, UM, MOVE FORWARD WITH STACK'S RECOMMENDATION.
IS THAT, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? YES.
SO WE'LL BE ASKING FOR, UM, THE COMMITTEE TO MOVE FORWARD CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF THE OPERATIONS PLAN, AS WELL AS A THREE YEAR, UH, A CONTRACT WITH E D F FOR A ONE YEAR WITH TWO ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS.
AND, UM, REMIND ME ABOUT THE, UM, MEMBERSHIP PORTION AS WELL.
SO WE ARE, UH, PROPOSING TO SET ASIDE SOME OF THE FUNDING THAT WE ALLOCATE TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION CONTRACT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE WOMEN OWNED AND OWNED BY, UH, PEOPLE OF COLOR, SO THAT WE CAN BRING A, A, A LARGER, MORE MINORITIES CAN BE, UH, REPRESENTATIVE AS PART OF THE, UH, MEMBERSHIPS ON E D F.
UM, THANK YOU JENNA, SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
I MEAN, WE HAVE HAD THOSE BIG WINS THIS PAST YEAR IN 2020.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO IS THE COLLABORATION.
AND I THINK, UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS A REPORTER ASKED ME, WHY SAN ANTONIO? WHY IS NAVISTAR EXPANDING IN SAN ANTONIO? AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF OUR COLLABORATION IN OUR TEAM WORK HERE, UM, BESIDES THE GREAT PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO AS WELL.
SO I THINK THAT'S, UH, ONE OF THE BIG REASONS.
UH, I KNOW THAT OUR FOCUS WILL BE LOOKING AT SAN ANTONIO, AND I KNOW SS A E D F IS VERY MUCH REGION IS, IS REGIONAL.
IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE MORE THE MERRIER, I THINK SS A YEAH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION IS LOOKING AT.
AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S A GREAT ASPECT TOO.
UM, ONE THING YOU DIDN'T, AND I WOULD LIKE SOME MORE DETAILS OF THE SCORECARD, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE CHANGES IN THE EXPANSION THAT YOU'VE DONE.
SO IF YOU COULD BRING, UM, IF YOU CAN GIVE MORE DETAILS OF WHAT IS IN THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR ALL OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, JUST FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
UM, I KNOW IT'S YOUR SECOND DAY BACK ON OFFICIALLY, BUT I WOULD, AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THIS CONVERSATION YET, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR, UM, IF YOU ALL ARE ALREADY HAVING, UM, DISCUSSION OR, UH, A, UH, I DON'T, I FORGOT THE WORD THAT I WANTED TO USE AN AFTER ACTION OR A, UM, A RESULT OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE INSTABILITY OF OUR ENERGY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE IMPACT THAT IT WILL HAVE OF OUR RETENTION, RECRUITMENT, ET CETERA.
UH, SO FOR STARTERS, I THINK WE CLOSED BY ASKING IF WE'RE BEING ASKED, RIGHT? THOSE QUESTIONS, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS I ASKED OF MY TEAM.
UM, WE HAVE PROBABLY NOW, NOW GRANTED WE'VE DOUBLED OUR PIPELINE FROM THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS THAT WE'RE TALKING TO.
UM, BUT INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, IT'S NOT ACTUALLY COMING UP IN A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS.
I THINK IT'S COME UP IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT FIVE TIMES.
UM, BUT TODAY, UH, WE HAD A, A CONVERSATION, A ROUND TABLE WITH SITE SELECTION CONSULTANTS, MY
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM ROUTINELY, UH, CONVENES VIRTUALLY NOW, BUT CONVENED SITE SELECTORS TO GIVE THE SAN ANTONIO PITCH.AND I GUARANTEE YOU THAT THAT WAS A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION.
IN FACT, MY TEAM WAS WORKING ON, UH, OUR APPROPRIATE RESPONSE THERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK FOLKS UNDERSTAND, UH, THAT THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE ONCE IN A, UH, YOU KNOW, 30 YEAR, UH, STORM, BUT THAT TOLERANCE LEVEL, UH, FOR SPECIFICALLY DATA CENTERS, UH, MANUFACTURING FACILITIES, BIOMANUFACTURING FACILITIES, UH, IS EXTREMELY LOW.
A LOT OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, HAVE BACKUP POWER AND, AND BACKUP, UH, BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS.
BUT WE HAVE TOUTED THE ERCOT MARKET AND WE HAVE TOUTED OUR RELIABILITY FOR YEARS.
BUT SINCE BEFORE I WAS BORN, UH, IN FACT, WE JUST HAD AN AD OUT IN CALIFORNIA, UM, WHERE WE CO-AUTHORED, UH, AN ADVERTORIAL WITH, UH, PAUL GOLD WILLIAMS AND, AND ROBERT PUENTE ABOUT THAT RELIABILITY.
SO THIS HAS BEEN SUCH AN ASSET TO US IN THE PAST, AND FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS IT WAS A HUGE VULNERABILITY FOR US.
AND SO WE ARE TRULY GOING TO HAVE TO REVISIT HOW, UH, WE PROMOTE OUR REGION SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO INFRASTRUCTURE.
NOW TO ANSWER YOUR DISCRETE, UH, DISCRETE QUESTION, UM, HAVE WE DONE AN, AN AFTER ACTION REVIEW? I WAS JUST HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH JIM PBA OVER AT THE PORT.
UH, WE'RE TRYING NOT TO DUPLICATE EFFORTS.
I THINK A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE COMMITTEE THAT THE, THE MAYOR STOOD UP AND THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES ONGOING.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS WE'RE TRYING TO TACK ON TO THOSE, UM, EXISTING STREAMS OF WORK, UH, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE PLUG IN WITH SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE'RE ACCOUNTABLE FOR, UM, WHICH IS MARKETING THE SAN ANTONIO REGION, BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE, UH, GOING FORWARD.
SO HOPEFULLY I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION THERE.
LOTS OF LEARNING FOR ALL OF US.
YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH JENNA.
AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE ON HERE JUST 'CAUSE I KNOW I'VE BEEN WANTING TO ASK THAT QUESTION AND I HAVE, BUT OH, I THINK WE NEEDED TO GET TOGETHER.
UM, AND THEN FOLLOWING UP WITH THAT, I DID WANT TO 'CAUSE IT IS, UM, HOT OFF THE PRESSES AND YOU DID MAKE MENTION OF IT IN PASSING, UH, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE 2020 AND OUR, UM, AND YOU WERE VERY MUCH, AND S A E D F WAS VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR, UM, ECONOMIC TRANSITION TEAM FOR OUR HEALTH TRANSITION TEAM WITH ECONOMIC TRANSITION TEAM IN 2020 AND, UM, THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLEDGE.
AND NOW THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE HAS JUST MADE, UM, WE'VE HAD SO MANY BUSINESSES THAT DID SIGN ON TO THE GREATER SAFER TOGETHER PLAY.
YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR OUR, UM, BUSINESSES IN SAN ANTONIO AND THE ECONOMIC TRANSITION.
BUT I'M JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE JUST AS A DRIVE BY.
I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE RIGHT NOW AS A DRIVE BY BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DISCUSS, UM, OFFLINE LATER.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MY, UM, COLLEAGUES IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND TO REMIND MY COLLEAGUES THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION OF THE OPERATION PLAN AND A CONTRACT WITH ONE YEAR WITH TWO ONE YEAR EXTENSIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, ANY QUESTIONS? I THINK YOU SAID NO COUNCIL MEMBER KADA.
I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CHAIR, BUT I MOVE TO APPROVE.
OKAY, WE'LL DO NO, NO PROBLEM.
WELL, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE OPERATION, OPERATION, UH, PLAN AND CONTRACT TO MOVE TO FULL COUNSEL CONSIDERATION.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, BEING HERE AND THIS INCREDIBLE MEETING.
UM, CARLOS, IS THIS YOUR LAST MEETING? YES, MA'AM.
I, HERE IT IS, UH, MY LAST E W C MEETING.
WELL, I THINK THERE'S A MOTION TO DENY THAT
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU, UM, ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THIS STILL WORKING AND DOING ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
THANK YOU FOR BEING A PHENOMENAL ASSISTANCE CITY MANAGER FOR
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US IN SO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS AND YOU'VE BEEN AN ASSET TO THIS ORGANIZATION.SO WE ARE GOING TO, I'M GOING TO MISS YOU.
I THINK WE ALL ARE GOING TO MISS YOU, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS, I THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MARCH 19TH LAST DAY, BUT THIS IS OUR LAST E WC MEETING, SO WE SET SOME MORE COUNCIL MEETINGS AND A LOT MORE WORK TO DO.
IF YOU WANT ME TO SET UP ANOTHER E W D C MEETING JUST FOR YOU, LEMME KNOW.