SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio City Council recently approved contracts for community partners to implement the $200 million SA: Ready to Work program.
The goal of the program is to place more than 28,000 people into either certification or degree programs and get at least 15,700 of them into “high-quality,” in-demand jobs.
Director of the initiative Michael Ramsay joined Leading SA Sunday to discuss the details of the program and what it could mean for the future of the Alamo City.
“SA: Ready to Work is a unique program. On the scale of waste, no other municipality in the country is making this type of an investment in its people. SA: Ready to Work has the potential to provide a talent base necessary for continued economic growth for companies that exist here today in San Antonio, as well as attracting new and emerging companies, get high-quality jobs for people. So we believe that that alignment between the skills that those companies are looking for, the talent base that we have here in San Antonio could be a game-changer economically for our community,” Ramsay said.
As San Antonio grows population-wise and company-wise, the hope is that this program better prepares San Antonians for the evolving job market.
“As those jobs continue to flood into the San Antonio community, the people who live here have to be equipped with the skills and the education that’s necessary to be qualified to fill those jobs. We know that a high-quality job is the answer to many of society’s ills, such as affordable housing... Making sure that individuals in the community have those access to those training and education programs to be competitive for those jobs when they arrive. And the jobs that are already existing here in our community is going to help those segments of the population who have been historically underserved and on the outside of those career pathways to building a leg in and make sure that our talent base here is strong for decades to come,” Ramsay said.
This program is expected to help thousands and thousands in San Antonio. The process to enter the program is simple, Ramsay said.
“If you’re a citizen here in San Antonio and you’ve been unemployed or underemployed and you’re looking for that pathway to get on to track to getting a career in an in-demand area and high growth, high wage sectors here in our city. Call 3-1-1. It’s as simple as that, and we can pre-register for the program that starts in April, and you’ll be assigned once those case management agencies are up and running later on this, this spring, you decide the case manager is going to help to coach, mentor and guide you and help you to navigate through the educational process to make sure that you matriculate through that training and development program on the air that meets your interests, your skills, your aptitude and is aligned with a good-paying job here in San Antonio. That is our commitment to you and take this opportunity to allow the community to wrap its arms of support around you to help you to achieve your goals,” Ramsay said.
If you have any questions about the program, you can find the answers here.
You can also watch the full interview with Ramsay in the video player above.