Jarvis Christian University students get educated on Texas workforce needs

HAWKINS, Texas (KLTV) - An uncertain economy, inflation, and the job market. All topics East Texas college students are concerned with as they prepare to move into the workforce.

Addressing a large crowd of faculty and students at Jarvis Christian University, Texas Workforce Commissioner Aaron Demerson spoke about East Texas needing workforce development.

“Workforce, economic development and education. You’ve heard there’s a labor shortage. So it’s important for we need employees. These students right now are developing their skills and honing their skills, the employers want to hire those students so it’s important for them to hear that,” he says.

Demerson serves as an advocate for over 620,000 Texas employers and over 3 million small businesses.

For students, particularly those graduating soon, important to know where they will fit in the workforce.

“It is very concerning. We see nowadays that to get a job, sometimes it becomes difficult. Especially a good paying job,” says Jarvis freshman Marleny Rivas.

“I know the job market is a little bit wonky. It went from you just had to have a high school diploma, then it went to associates degree or technical degree, pretty soon the minimum for a lot of jobs is you need a bachelors degree,” says Jarvis junior Jhavier’ Law.

“I’m looking forward to learning things about the economy, about the things that are happening around me in the world of business, or the job market,” says international student Vladimir Avramov.

“Try to put our best foot forward so that we become marketable,” Law says.

Demerson’s presentation showed that as of October 2022, Texas employers hired 546,000 new employees, but there were 869,000 job openings.

Education is the key to advance the skilled workforce.

“We’ll make sure those employers know that out there are students out there that want those jobs, those employers want those students,” Demerson says.

Jarvis Christian University is working on renovating an on-campus building to be used as a Workforce training center.

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