Texas Skills Fund: Training Workers, Ignoring Poverty Wages?

Governor Greg Abbott stood in Austin today, beaming as he announced over $1.3 million in Skills Development Fund grants to Collin County Community College District. The plan? Train more than 840 workers for jobs in healthcare, manufacturing, and tech. It’s the kind of headline that sounds like progress, a neat little package tied up with a bow of opportunity. But peel back the layers, and the story shifts. For all the fanfare, this isn’t the victory for Texas workers it’s made out to be. It’s a half-measure dressed up as a solution, a nod to an economy that’s booming on paper while too many families scrape by.

Sure, training matters. No one disputes that a nurse or a welder with sharper skills can lift their own prospects. Yet, here’s the hitch: skills alone don’t pay the rent. They don’t cover childcare or keep the lights on when wages stagnate. Abbott’s announcement paints a rosy picture of ‘high-demand occupations,’ but it conveniently sidesteps the reality that many of these jobs - think manufacturing or entry-level healthcare - come with paychecks that barely keep pace with Texas’ rising cost of living. This isn’t investment in people; it’s a lifeline to industries hungry for labor, with workers left holding the short end of the stick.

The Texas Workforce Commission deserves a nod for partnering with community colleges. That part’s not wrong. Collin College, with its tailored programs, could be a game-changer for folks looking to break into better careers. But let’s not kid ourselves - this isn’t about empowering workers. It’s about keeping the economic engine humming for businesses, some of whom rake in millions while their employees lean on public assistance to survive. If we’re serious about thriving, not just surviving, we need to talk about what’s missing from this grant-fueled celebration.

Texas loves to tout its job growth - 187,700 new positions from January 2024 to this year alone. Healthcare’s booming, tech’s exploding in Austin, and construction can’t keep up with urban sprawl. Yet, beneath the numbers lies a stubborn truth: the skills gap isn’t the only crisis. Employers cry out for welders, nurses, and solar techs, but they’re less vocal about why these jobs stay vacant. It’s not just training; it’s wages, benefits, and respect. The Skills Development Fund, with its $48 million annual budget, patches one hole while ignoring the bigger tear in the fabric of working life.

Take manufacturing, a cornerstone of this grant package. Companies like Encore Wire and Fiber Systems International get a shiny new batch of trained workers, courtesy of taxpayers. Great for their bottom line. But research from the Texas Talent Connection Grant era shows the real win isn’t just jobs created - it’s wages raised and retention improved. So why stop at skills? Advocates for worker dignity argue these programs need teeth: tie funding to living wage commitments or union protections. Without that, we’re polishing a system that keeps too many Texans one paycheck from disaster.

Then there’s healthcare, another darling of the grant list. Nurses and technicians are in desperate demand as Texas’ population swells. Community colleges, pumping out nearly 130,000 degrees and certificates yearly, are doing heroic work to meet it. Yet, the burnout’s real - low pay and brutal hours drive turnover. A $353,072 grant to train 169 workers for CSG Forte Payments and Portable Solar sounds impressive until you ask: what’s the starting salary? If it’s not enough to live on, we’re not solving problems; we’re cycling through them.

Some defend this approach, claiming businesses can’t thrive with higher labor costs. They’ll point to small firms like Helm Dental Laboratory, arguing tight margins leave no room for generous pay. Fair enough - small businesses face real pressures. But when the state steps in with public dollars, it’s not unreasonable to demand accountability. Why not prioritize grants for companies that invest back in their people? The Economic Development Administration’s $6.9 million for Rockdale and Port Isabel proves it works: over 1,000 jobs and millions in private investment followed. Texas can do better than trickle-down training.

History backs this up. The Skills Development Fund, since 1996, has trained over 435,000 workers and boosted wages from $10.33 an hour to nearly $34 by 2020. That’s progress worth celebrating. But in 2025, with rents soaring and groceries biting deeper into budgets, $34 doesn’t stretch like it used to. Programs like UpSkill Houston show what’s possible when education aligns with industry - and when workers aren’t left behind. Collin County’s grants could be a stepping stone, but only if we stop pretending skills alone are the finish line.

Workers in Texas aren’t asking for handouts. They’re asking for a fair shot - a chance to build lives, not just careers. Community colleges, with their Talent Strong Texas Pathways, get us partway there, linking students to family-sustaining wages. The Jobs & Education for Texans program proves targeted training in nursing or chip manufacturing can shift the needle. Yet, every dollar spent on skills rings hollow if the system shrugs at exploitation. We need a workforce revolution, not a workshop.

Abbott’s announcement isn’t wrong; it’s incomplete. It’s a spark that could ignite real change if we dared to demand more - more accountability from employers, more security for workers, more vision for an economy that lifts everyone. Texas brags about its low unemployment and tech hubs, but true strength lies in a workforce that’s valued, not just trained. Let’s stop settling for shiny press releases and start fighting for the people who keep this state running.