March 24, 2021
With a labor force encompassing a 19-county region, your Chamber and Industrial Foundation team, in partnership with the Development Corporation of Abilene, want to ensure we’re representing the collective interests of our local employers by helping to serve as a bridge between the education and talent needs of our Abilene business community. Starting every other week, our team is pleased to introduce to you a twist on our Daily Business Brief - Workforce Wednesday. We’ll be highlighting workforce data, local job opportunities, training resources and more to help provide you with more tools for your team to succeed.

For questions about Workforce Wednesday, please reach out to our Director of Talent and Development, Marissa Ransted.
Many newly remote workers will stay right where they are, but others may take advantage of one particular benefit of working from home — that home is wherever you want it to be.

Survey of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce & Abilene Industrial Foundation members (2021)
FREE VIRTUAL TRAINING AND RESOURCES
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 | Various Times 
Join us for our free webinar, hosted by e-learning experts, to learn how to develop a solution to keep your team engaged, even if your team is decentralized. You’ll also learn how to:
  • Reignite your team’s excitement through tailored content
  • Develop best practices you can apply to any of your trainings or course
  • Foster your team’s growth – even while remote – through robust membership opportunities

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 | 10AM CT

Chad Burnett, AEP’s chief economist, will discuss what lies ahead for the economy this year and next with the continued pandemic, new political leadership, and presumably a recovery from the recession. Burnett will cover a broad range of topics that matter to economic developers, including labor markets and income impacts, inflation and corresponding interest rates, the strength of the global recovery and its impact on the U.S. dollar and industrial production, and fiscal and public policy changes. The webinar will be hosted by Eric Basinger, economic & business development manager for AEP-SWEPCo. The presentation will last 45 minutes, followed by time for Q&A with the presenter.
GET INVOLVED!
BUSINESS EDGE
The Business Edge provides an hour to discuss an issue that our business community has expressed a need to address. These group discussions are an opportunity to hear from industry and educational partners of the Abilene Industrial Foundation and the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.

Your AIF team is here to support the economic engines of Abilene. Feel free to contact Helen Usera if you have ideas for future presentations, would like to participate or be a presenter.

Upcoming Business Edge Topics include:
  • Making an Emergency Plan
  • Business Loans
  • Type A Business Incentives
  • Workforce Development/ Internships
ABILENE IS STILL HIRING

Check out openings in Abilene!! Postings are a free benefit for Abilene businesses - let us know if you'd like to add yours to the listing! 


INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Looking for an intern? Need an internship?
You need AbileneWorks.com. Postings are a free!
NEXTUniversity: A CAREER EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
NEXTU is a career empowerment program funded by the Development Corporation of Abilene in partnership with Abilene Independent School District.

Students interested in studying career fields within Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways that lead to primary jobs can apply to be a part of NEXTU.

NEXTU provides students with workforce development "scholarship" dollars to attend dual credit classes as well as post-secondary classes at Cisco College or Texas State Technical College.
NEXTUniversity, Career Coach, Elisha Seca sits down with some of Abilene Independent School District's senior students to talk about why they choose their career field of study and how NEXTU has helped them reach their goals.
WHAT WE'RE READING

Higher education officials urge Legislature to invest in colleges and universities after pandemic takes toll on students and economy


As the Legislature grapples with a struggling pandemic economy and the impact of an unprecedented winter storm, higher education advocates are vying for lawmakers’ attention, trying to make the case for more investment in colleges and universities.



Remember the Healthcare.gov Debacle? Its Legacy Haunts the Biden Plan.


The stimulus bill spends billions to help more Americans buy Obamacare plans. But getting those dollars will take some work, and some waiting.

ABOUT: Workforce Wednesday content and newsletter is created in partnership with the Abilene Chamber, the Abilene Industrial Foundation and the Development Corporation of Abilene - Develop Abilene Team.