Fort Worth business, education leaders say Tarrant County could pioneer workforce development | Fort Worth Report

Gizelle Hernandez remembers a time when a student she was working with felt her education hadn’t yet prepared her for the job in front of her. 

“One of the students seemed very overwhelmed and confused, and she was like, ‘I just feel like I’m getting thrown out here. I don’t know what to do,’” said Hernandez, a graduate of Fort Worth ISD’s Marine Creek Collegiate High School and a current senior at Tarleton State University.

“So, let’s talk,” Hernandez, who also serves as an ambassador for the Tarrant To & Through (T3) Partnership, told the student. 

For an ambitious coalition of education, industry and Tarrant County leaders, improving workforce development and addressing the education-to-employment gap is a shared goal. Tarrant County could be a pioneer for closing it, they said during the nonprofit’s second annual Vision T3 event. The nonprofit supports students through college and career advising, scholarships and mentorships to help them earn a degree or credential and enter the workforce.

During the event, T3’s executive director Natalie Young Williams highlighted the organization’s role in bringing together a “collective energy of partnership, student academic success and community commitment” to create sustainable futures for Tarrant County students. Williams invited companies and business leaders to join forces with T3 to invest in talent that could drive Fort Worth’s economic engine.

The organization begins working with students in high school, aligning skills and education with specific workforce needs and preparing them to take on the jobs of tomorrow, Williams said.

T3’s online platform Pathways to Careers helps connect student skills and interests with more than 60 programs of study and shows students the steps they need to take to find a career.

“We prepare them before they get there so students are skilled up and ready for those jobs,” she told the Report.

Already, the program has attracted the attention of companies like American Airlines, Lockheed Martin, Texas Health Resources and Whitley Penn, whose investments have helped expand T3’s influence while improving their own companies’ workforce development, Williams said. 

Every student in Tarrant County deserves access to the skills and pathways that will lead them to meaningful careers, Williams added, and T3 can help them get there through its network of mentors and resources.

The first cohort of T3 scholars to graduate will do so this year. The class includes 373 college graduates across five partner institutions like Texas Christian University, Tarrant County College and the University of Texas at Arlington. 

The milestone, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said, highlights the impact T3 has had since its founding in 2020. Starting in six Fort Worth ISD schools, the nonprofit has expanded to include Arlington, Crowley and Castleberry ISDs. Parker was the founding director of T3 before becoming mayor. 

“The future of Fort Worth hinges upon our investments in the students. You cannot export poverty and import all our talent,” Parker said to a room full of Tarrant County business leaders. “We must start with education.”

As the nonprofit also connects high school students to mentors like Hernandez, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross described T3 as more than just a workforce program.

“What T3 is really about, in my opinion, is building on the characters of these young people,” Ross said. “Giving them a foundation of success, not just in the workforce, but in life, letting them know relationships matter.”

Hernandez, a self-proclaimed people person, continues to build on relationships she’s made through T3, she said. After graduating from Tarleton State as a first-generation student, Hernandez hopes to work in human resources or counseling — a vision made easier by the tasks she’s taken on within the organization.

“T3 provided the resources and direction that I needed,” Hernandez said. “I want to pass that on to other first-gen students like myself, so they know they aren’t navigating this alone.” 

Through her work as a T3 ambassador, Hernandez connects students with support and guidance, empowering them to stay on track. Being an ambassador is personal for her, she said. 

“I’m helping others because I know how hard it can be to figure things out alone,” Hernandez said.

Baraka Mirambi, a junior at the University of North Texas and a Fort Worth ISD Carter-Riverside High School graduate, echoed that sentiment. Though he serves as a T3 ambassador, Mirambi said he’s still trying to figure some things out himself.

“When I work with T3, I’m doing it for the students who are coming after me — it’s about opening doors that I wished were open for me at that age,” Mirambi said. 

Robert Allen, president of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, spoke to the economic impact of a skilled workforce and the responsibility local leaders bear to prepare the community’s young adults for future success.

“Every day when I wake up, I feel even more optimistic about what our future holds,” Allen said. “We can and we will be wildly successful as we move forward together … keyword there is ‘together.’”

Workforce development is more than just meeting companies’ immediate needs, but forecasting for the talent required to fill the jobs that don’t yet exist, he said.

“By fostering these partnerships with local businesses, education institutions and community organizations, we can and we will build a strong, adaptable workforce that meets the needs of our economy,” Allen said. 

As T3 builds a pipeline of skilled workers, the program also builds a future where Fort Worth’s young people have the resources, guidance and opportunities to achieve their dreams, Williams said.

“Our goal is for every student to see themselves in Fort Worth’s future,” she said.

Business will be healthier for it, Allen said.

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1. 

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