WACO, Texas – Through help from the City of Waco and Prosper Waco, UpSkill training is providing courses for people to enhance their skill and leadership abilities in order to move up in their industries.

In a period where employers nationwide – including Waco – have struggled to fill job openings, UpSkill is coming at the perfect time.

“This is meeting a critical need,” Waco mayor Dillon Meek said. “We have a lot of vacant jobs that pay livable wages, and we have people who could stand to be more financially secure. So we’re trying to meet that need through this program.”

The courses are taught through Texas State Technical College and McLennan Community College, and focus on skills in fields like manufacturing, hospitality, business and healthcare.

Meek has been one of the driving forces behind this program and building a better workforce.

“What this program is trying to do is give people the technical skills they need to go get jobs that pay good wages,” Meek said.

Prosper Waco is one of the organizations putting together partnerships to make the training successful. Even once you finish the course, they make sure to check in.

“Every student who goes through UpSkill Waco will have a job coach who is going to meet with them monthly and check in with them to make sure they’re on track,” Prosper Waco Chief Program Officer Hermann Pereira said.

For the individual, going through the program has an obvious benefit.

“By joining an UpSkill course, you can rest assured knowing that it is a field you can find a job in,” Pereira said.

The courses also help the community as a whole.

“It addresses a labor shortage in our community,” Meek said. “It allows people to get the skills they need to go get those vacant jobs that helps businesses.”

You can learn more about UpSkill by clicking here.