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Imagine a map of the immediate 1- to 2-mile radius of your home. The neighbors, businesses and services within that area inevitably shape your understanding of economic opportunity. For students and families across Tarrant County, their understanding of what’s possible for their future is impacted by geographical and financial barriers that impede their exposure to in-demand careers and opportunities. All students deserve the power to choose their future and build a life they dream of.
Our charge at Tarrant To & Through (T3) Partnership is to stand at the intersection of education and economic mobility to help address these barriers and build clear pathways to bright futures for all students.
Natalie Young Williams
A recent report from YouScience outlines the growing career exposure gap, finding that, although high school students show significant aptitude for many in-demand fields, their interest in pursuing a career in those fields is low due to limited exposure. For example, the report found that the exposure gap for careers in advanced manufacturing is 66%; for careers in computers and technology it is an astounding 75%.
In my time as executive director of T3 Partnership, my organizational vision has been guided by a core belief that every student should have the ability to choose their destiny and my passion to spark their dreams into a tangible reality. Our work at T3 is focused on ensuring more Tarrant County students graduate with the credentials they need to thrive in the workforce. We take our role seriously in expanding students’ horizons and contributing to an environment where students take advantage of the programs and resources our schools have to offer, providing guidance, scholarships, and networking to set all students up for success.
When we think about the relationship between student success and workforce readiness, we know our responsibility to steward students through the education cycle begins in middle school and continues to career placement. By engaging with students and parents at every milestone and ensuring they understand the academic programs available within schools in their district — like P-TECH, ECHS, CTE and Dual-Credit — students are empowered to play an active role in selecting an endorsement pathway and shaping their future beyond the classroom. Taking this a step further, we realize the need to develop and deploy more resources to inform students about the wealth of career options outside of their immediate surroundings and provide insight on what the return on their postsecondary education investment could look like in a given field.
To make progress toward alleviating the education-to-career gap, the Mayor’s Council on Education and Workforce Development and JPMorgan Chase & Co. stepped forward to help T3 develop a digital workforce pipeline platform, T3 Pathways to Careers (P2C). It is through foundational partnerships like this that we will be able to expand our student reach in Tarrant County.
P2C will open the door to possibilities and provide more families with a tailored pathway to help them achieve their future career goals. Guiding our students through the education process and connecting them with best-fit careers requires collaboration among our school districts and institutions of higher learning, business and industry leaders, and community partners who are committed to the success of our students and recognize the key role they play in bolstering the local workforce to serve our growing region.
Our city has experienced unprecedented growth over the last few years and put us on a trajectory unlike anything we have experienced in Fort Worth. It is imperative we do all we can to invest in our workforce now and connect our students to the vast network of employers and partners right here in North Texas. Together, we can design clear pathways to bright futures for Tarrant County students.
Natalie Young Williams is the executive director of Tarrant To & Through (T3) Partnership.
