DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Rene Dominguez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
SUBJECT:
The appropriation and authorization of $82,000 for Upgrade, an SAEP initiative.
SUMMARY:
An ordinance appropriating $82,000 from the Economic Development Incentive Fund balance and authorizing a total investment of $82,000 in Upgrade, an initiative through the San Antonio Education Partnership (SAEP) which focuses on matching adults to career pathways and to employers who have committed to job interviews.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The 2015 SA2020 Talent Pipeline Report highlighted the shortage of trained individuals to fill the open middle skill jobs and identified a solution by focusing on two populations: opportunity youth and adults who have completed some college. Upgrade is a specific strategy that targets adults and is based on a national model called the "Graduate Network." It is a demand-driven model that matches adults to career pathways and to employers who have committed to job interviews. Upgrade is done in collaboration with SA Works, housed within caf? college and operated by the San Antonio Education Partnership.
ISSUE:
In Bexar County, there are nearly 300,000 adults that have some college but no degree. Alamo Colleges has identified over 10,000 students who have left in the last two years without completing their degree. The majority of this adult population is employed and has already secured a number of credit hours that could put them on a path to qualify for higher skill, higher wage jobs. SA2020 estimated that just a 1 percent increase in the number of bachelor's degrees would represent an estimated $1.38 billion increase in personal income for the San Antonio region. This example shows the importance and potential of certification and degree attainment.
Momentum for the initiative began in 2016 when Mayor Taylor and Judge Wolff hosted a business forum to engage local employers to partner with Upgrade. Businesses who p...
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