Argues point to increase funding for public education.
Former Houston mayor Bill White says ‘yes’ Texas is creating jobs, but it still is lagging behind when it comes to training a skilled workforce.
“We’re eating our seed corn and we’re falling behind where we should be to maintain growth in 5, 10, 20 years,” White tells KTRH News.
White says cuts to public education have put Texas at a competitive disadvantage.
“The business community understood the future of this state depended on the quality of our graduates so we built up our university system,” he says. “Now parts of that system are on life support.”
Governor Rick Perry's office insists the Legislature is considering a bill that would encourage programs to help students quickly earn technical certifications in fast-growing industries.
Economist Ray Perryman however, says that may not be enough. He tells KTRH News if Texas doesn't start training for things like nanotechnology and genomics, it will lose those high-paying jobs to other states.
“State and areas that are not keeping pace in terms of developing skilled workers simply will not be able to compete for the big investments that come along with that,” says Perryman.
