U.S. employers posted nearly 600,000 skilled-trades openings last year. Roughly 150,000 new workers entered the trades through apprenticeship programs. That gap, according to a recent report from commercial real estate firm JLL, could leave 2.1 million positions unfilled by 2030 and cost the economy as much as $1 trillion a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike Feinberg has been chipping away at his version of a fix since 2020. \u201cWe are employer-focused,\u201d says Feinberg, co-founder of WorkTexas, the Houston nonprofit that trains adults and high schoolers for trades careers. \u201cOur mission is to help people get jobs, keep jobs, and advance in careers.\u201d That mission statement leaves something out on purpose: it never mentions training or certificates. More on his background is on his TXSVF biography<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Feinberg’s critique of the workforce-training industry is less a policy argument than a measurement problem. \u201cYou go to community colleges, trade schools, and ask them, \u2018Are you successful? How do you know you’re doing a good job?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAnd they say, \u201897.8% of our students earn a certificate.\u2019 How many of those people got jobs? They don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy Mike Feinberg Built WorkTexas Around Employers, Not Credentials<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n