I m not sure they were the straw, but they were a straw. A local principal told me that this is a wake-up call to all of us to produce workers who are qualified for this industry. Or we re going to lose this industry. And so Austin s priorities are changing. The stakes are high.
Failure means industry moving out.
Not just out of Austin, but out of America. The dominant issue for Chambers of Commerce all across this country today, and the dominant issue in economic development in this country, is the ability to deliver to employers a trained work force. If we can do that, there is an economic future, for our nation for the next several decades that is unlike anything we ve ever seen. If we fail to do that, then these companies have no choice but to go elsewhere to find that labor. Outside of the boundaries of this country, and certainly outside of the boundaries of our individual communities.