Job opportunities and the skills needed to be successful have been changing and evolving at an accelerating pace. But the way finance and investment in talent is approached has not adapted to support the corresponding need for reskilling – nor has it changed to help employers, workers and government manage related employment and income risks.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) and partners including the Partnership, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, WorkingNation and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) have launched a groundbreaking initiative, called Talent Finance, to explore new ways to invest in people and skills that fit our time and an economy where competition is based on talent. The Talent Finance initiative will build a bold new public-private approach for financing talent to bolster global competitiveness and expand opportunity and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the talent marketplace. It will do this through a series of virtual forums in September and October where employers can share strategies to better prepare today's workforce for the future. The series will be followed by a series of design workshops.

A framework for this approach, complete with recommendations for designing and executing real-world solutions, is detailed in a landmark white paper co-authored by Peter Beard, Greater Houston Partnership senior vice president of Regional Workforce Development and leader of the UpSkill Houston initiative. Beard will speak during Talent Finance forums held on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, 2020.

BridgeYear's new Career Test Drive® Kits bridge COVID-driven gap in career exploration

When schools paused classroom learning and on-campus activities and businesses limited the number of individuals allowed in their offices and facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring, it disrupted various approaches used to introduce students and parents to good careers in Houston. Job and career fairs, internships and hands-on lab work were paused.

The nonprofit and UpSkill Houston partner BridgeYear, which produces experiential Career Test Drive® fairs in schools across the city, moved quickly to adapt. Over the summer, the organization developed and piloted a line of Career Test Drive Kits, delivering hands-on activities and engaging instructional videos highlighting health care and construction careers right to students' homes.

During a tumultuous year when the COVID-19 pandemic drove significant job loss and uncertainty in regional job markets across Texas, 30 workforce development professionals from across the state came together (virtually) to learn proven strategies that can help cities and regions recover and strengthen the skills of individuals. This cohort makes up the first cohort of the Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) Academy of Texas, and includes three UpSkill Houston leaders.

The six-month TPM Academy® teaches strategies to build sustainable talent pipelines to help Texans access greater economic opportunity and help employers tap into high-quality and skilled talent. The Academy was launched by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and is supported by an alliance of state workforce and education leaders, including the Partnership, Educate Texas and the Federal Reserve Bank of Texas. In addition to supporting recovery efforts, TPM® strategies will benefit Texas as it works to achieve its 30x60TX goal.

UpSkill Houston executive committee members Dr. Allatia Harris, San Jacinto College's vice chancellor for Strategic Initiatives, Workforce Development, Community Relations and Diversity; and Andrew Van Chau, executive board member of the Gulf Coast Economic Development District and Katy-Fulshear Area Chamber of Commerce; and Bryant Black, Partnership director of Regional Workforce Development, are among this inaugural cohort. Peter Beard, Partnership senior vice president of Regional Workforce Development and leader of the UpSkill Houston initiative, is among the TPM Academy faculty.