The Last Word: Amazon Web Services’ Valerie Singer on the AWS Jobs Tech Alliance Coming to Texas

In the Lone Star State, tech isn’t just big—it’s booming. With high-tech jobs growing at twice the speed of overall state job growth, Texas has an appetite for tech talent. Enter Amazon Web Services (AWS) with its Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance, a recipe for bridging the tech skills gap.

The initiative, now expanding into Texas, aims to cultivate a rich crop of tech talent, initially focusing on the Dallas and Houston metros. But it’s about more than filling jobs; it’s about nurturing a thriving tech ecosystem.

“The expansion of the AWS Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance into Texas further demonstrates our commitment to bring together government, education, industry, and nonprofits to address this critical need and enable future economic growth,” Singer noted in a company blog post, outlining the alliance’s ambitious goals.

Locally, Dallas College is joining three other Texas higher education institutions—Texas State University, Houston Community College, and Kilgore College—in the alliance’s initial launch. Their mission? To deliver modernized tech curricula, connecting students with in-demand jobs in cloud computing, IT, software development, and data analytics.

The corporate world is collaborating with AWS, too. Tech-savvy companies including Brooksource, CoreStack, DLZP Group, JPMorganChase, TanChes Global Management, and TEKsystems are working with AWS to identify talent needs, offer real-world learning experiences, and hire qualified candidates.

Elizabeth Caudill McClain, SVP of talent strategies at the Dallas Regional Chamber, sees the potential for significant impact. “The launch of the AWS Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance poses an exciting opportunity for business leaders across Texas to join together to address the skills gap for high-demand IT jobs while also supporting the economic mobility of Texans,” she said.

The Texas-sized initiative is just one part of AWS’s global strategy. The Tech Alliance, which debuted in June 2023, is now active in nine countries and five U.S. states.

As Dallas and the rest of Texas gear up for this tech talent transformation, JPMorganChase’s Stacey Laurent, VP and lead technical program manager, sums up the opportunity: “We eagerly anticipate contributing to the worldwide movement that revitalizes tech education and fosters a diverse, skilled pool of talent, enriching the landscape of Texas.”

For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.

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