UpSkill Houston
The regional workforce development arm of the Greater Houston Partnership.
Connecting people, partners and pathways
UpSkill Houston is the regional workforce development arm of the Greater Houston Partnership. Established in 2014, UpSkill brings employers, educators and community organizations together around a shared strategy – helping businesses find and grow the talent they need while helping more Houstonians move toward meaningful, family-sustaining careers.
UpSkill works in the space between employer needs and learner goals, education and employment, economic growth and economic mobility. By connecting the people, information and opportunities on both sides, we help turn shared priorities into shared action.
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Employers Engaged
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Years of Workforce Leadership
Houston has the talent. Let’s build stronger connections to opportunity.
Work is changing quickly. New technology, shifting skill needs and evolving industries are creating opportunity, but the systems people rely on to navigate education and work remain fragmented.
Employers struggle to find and develop the people they need. Students and workers struggle to understand where they fit and what steps to take next. Education and community partners need timely information, lasting relationships and clearer connections to employers.
Houston has many of the right people, programs and resources. The challenge is connecting them in ways that are easier to understand, use and scale.
That is where UpSkill Houston comes in.
The connective "and"
UpSkill Houston works between the parts of the workforce system that too often operate separately:
- Employers and educators
- Skills and careers
- Talent and opportunity
- Data and lived experience
- Economic growth and economic mobility
The value is not simply in bringing people into the same room. It is in the shared understanding, stronger relationships and coordinated action those connections make possible.
UpSkill Houston in action
Ready Set Next
A clearer path from career exploration to opportunity
One of the solutions UpSkill Houston is leading is Ready Set Next, a career exploration and connection platform being built with Houston.
Ready Set Next will help students and adults explore careers, understand education and training options, find real-world work-based experiences and, over time, connect to jobs and supports. At the same time, it will help employers identify new talent and provide pathways to upward mobility to their existing workforce.
Employers, educators, community organizations and residents are helping shape how it works. Initial pilots will allow users and partners to test the platform, provide feedback and improve the experience before it expands more broadly.
Ready Set Next connects career discovery and real next steps, individual interests and workforce data, existing resources and the people who need them.
UpSkill Houston in action
Initiatives
Our work connects regional strategy to practical initiatives that help employers, partners and Houstonians act.
Employer-led talent pathways
Employers, educators and community partners work together to understand workforce gaps, define priority skills and build stronger pathways into critical roles.
Work-based learning
UpSkill helps bring partners together to expand internships, apprenticeships, mentorship, workplace exposure and other experiences that connect learning to real work.
Skills-first talent practices
UpSkill supports employers in looking beyond traditional degree requirements to identify, hire and advance people based on skills, experience and potential.
More ways to engage
There is no single way to participate in UpSkill Houston. Organizations and individuals can engage based on their expertise, goals and capacity.
Join a working group
Help test ideas, shape solutions and improve how initiatives work in practice.
Create career exposure
Offer a workplace tour, career conversation, mentorship opportunity, internship, apprenticeship or other work-based experience.
Share a talent challenge
Bring a difficult-to-fill role, changing skill need or shared industry challenge to the table.
Attend an event
Join employers, educators and community leaders for regional discussions, shared learning and action.
Find your place in the work
UpSkill depends on employers, educators and community organizations working together. Whether you are addressing an immediate talent need, helping learners prepare for their futures or connecting people to opportunity, there is a role for you.
For employers and talent teams
For education and training partners
For community organizations
Fill today’s roles and build tomorrow’s talent.
Hard-to-fill roles are rarely solved by one job posting or one organization. UpSkill connects employers with education and community partners to address immediate workforce needs and strengthen the pathways that will supply talent in the future. Through UpSkill, employers can:
- Bring a hard-to-fill role or shared talent challenge to the table
- Help define the skills, credentials and experiences needed for priority jobs
- Participate in employer-led working groups, pilots and industry partnerships
- Create career exposure, mentorship, internship, apprenticeship and work-based learning opportunities
- Explore skills-first hiring and advancement practices
- Connect workforce insights and opportunities to the right leaders within their company
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Connect learning to employer needs and learner opportunity.
Education and training providers need a clear line of sight into changing workforce demand and the career outcomes connected to their programs. UpSkill helps K–12 districts, community colleges, universities, training providers and apprenticeship sponsors work directly with employers and community partners to build stronger education-to-career pathways. Through UpSkill, education partners can:
- Hear directly from employers about changing roles and skill needs
- Use regional workforce information to inform programs and credentials
- Participate in employer-led working groups, co-design sessions and pilots
- Connect learners to career exploration, work-based learning and employment opportunities
- Strengthen alignment between education, credential completion and career outcomes
- Share expertise that helps ensure pathways work for learners in practice
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Bring community knowledge to regional action.
Organizations closest to people understand the barriers, motivations and supports that data alone cannot reveal. That knowledge is essential to building pathways that people can understand, access and use. UpSkill creates opportunities for community organizations to bring that insight into regional workforce efforts and develop relationships across Houston’s employer and education network. Through UpSkill, community organizations can:
- Help design pathways, pilots, tools and workforce initiatives
- Bring community voice and lived experience into regional decision-making
- Connect the people they serve to career information, experiences, services and opportunities
- Participate in focus groups, testing and community feedback sessions
- Share practices that are working and learn from other organizations
- Build relationships with education partners, employers and regional initiatives
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Workforce development is economic development
Companies grow where they can find and develop the people they need. Individuals and families thrive where there are clear paths to stable, well-paying work. UpSkill brings those goals together through an approach that is employer-led, informed by data and lived experience, and built through partnership.
We bring employers, educators and community organizations together.
Employers bring insight into changing roles, skills and workforce needs. Educators bring expertise in learning, credentials and student success. Community organizations bring trusted relationships and a clear understanding of the barriers, motivations and supports that shape people’s ability to move forward.
We connect data and lived experience.
Regional workforce data helps identify where opportunity and misalignment exist. Community knowledge helps explain the realities that data alone cannot show. Together, they give partners a fuller picture of what people need and what solutions are most likely to work.
We link skills and career opportunity.
UpSkill helps employers, educators and community partners define the skills needed for priority roles, strengthen education-to-career pathways and expand access to apprenticeships, internships, mentorship and other work-based experiences.
We turn shared priorities into shared action.
Through working groups, research, tools and regional initiatives, employers, educators and community partners test ideas, learn what works and build practical solutions that can reach more people.
Steering Committee
Lindsay Hyman
Accenture
Abel Garza
Aldine ISD
Jennifer Baker
Alief ISD
Craig von Collenberg
Amazon Web Services
Amanda Jolly
Aon
Lee Losciale
Aon
Bob Newhouse
Aon
Allie Danziger
Ascent Funding
Kyle Holland
Associated General Contractors of Houston
Charles Stein
AT&T
Kevin Krausert
Avatar Innovations
Ernest Lewis
BakerRipley
Patti Abshire
Bank of America
Nancy Moreno
Baylor College of Medicine
Melanie Diaz
Boston Consulting Group
Mike Lewis
Boston Consulting Group
Louise Wiggins
Boston Consulting Group
Kevin Hattery
Boys & Girls Club of Houston
Anne Bartlett
Brazosport College
Victoria Chen
Bridge Year
Nathan Rieger
Brooksource
Charlene Tennison
Buckeye Partners
Michelle Paul
Capital Idea Houston
Paul Pelosi
Career Spring
April Fabre
Centerpoint
John Seydler
City of Houston, Office of the Comptroller
Victoria Johnson
Comcast
Chad Bowser
Comerica Bank
Megan Steckly
Compudopt
Chase Wilson
Construction Career Collaborative
Lisa Williams
Dow Chemical
Lydia Holland
DiscoverU
Ashley Willett
DiscoverU
Terence Narcisse
East Harris County Development Council
MaryJane Mudd
East Harris County Manufacturers Association
Susan Elmore
Elmore
Greg Hambrick
Fast Forward Works
Anna Crocket
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch
Chris Schrek
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch
Keri Schmidt
Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce
Andrew Van Chau
Fulshear-Katy Area Chamber of Commerce
Linda Nelson
GE Vernova
Daphne Carter
Genesys Works
Robert Bruce
Glascock School, Rice University
Cary Wright
Good Reason Houston
Alma Ybarra
Goodwill Industries of Houston
David Ten Have
Good Works Collective
Diana Zarzuelo
Greater Houston Community Foundation
Adriana Wilson
Greater Houston Opportunity Youth Collaborative
Charlotte Burgos
Group 1 Automotive
Mike Sullivan
Group 1 Automotive
Jonathan Homeyer
Gulf Capital Bank
Juliet Stipeche
Gulf Coast Workforce Board
Russell Tomlin
Gulf Coast Workforce Board
Helen Martinez-Mitchham
Gulf States Toyota
Talitha Alexander
Harmony Schools
David Rasch
Harvey Cleary
Lisa Caruthers
HCDE
Lutricia Harrison
Houston City College
Thom Ronk
Houston City College
Christina Tobin
Houston City College
Michael Webster
Houston City College
Eric Goodie
Houston Area Urban League
Brian Greene
Houston Food Bank
Dana Carmouche
Houston ISD
Kristen Hole
Houston ISD
Jill Quinn
Houston ISD
Ray Weaver
Houston ISD
Pat Mann
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
Meagan Sutton
Houston Methodist
Arun Gir
iEducate
Grace Rodriguez
Impact Hub
Dawn Gentry
Ineos
Aaron McCloud
InterveneK12
Dorian Cockrell
JPMorgan Chase
Joseph Burke
Junior Achievement
David Loving
KHOU 11
Flavio Cunha
Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Ruth Lopez-Turley
Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University
Douglas Walcerz
Lee College
Laura Jaramillo
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Chrisi Hagerty
Lone Star College
Chantell Link
Lone Star College
Megan Mariveles
Lone Star College
Michel Zuch
Lone Star College
Sneha Shah
Maneva Group
Mike Holland
Marek Bros.
Sabra Phillips
Marek Bros.
Lori Colson
Memorial Hermann
Lori Knowles
Memorial Hermann
Raj Salhotra
Momentum Education
Dave Edwards
Mustang CAT
Hilary Ware
My Next Season
Raquel Couri
Next Decade
Mohan Yeggoni
Next Gen
Shelby Mounts
NextOp Vets
Allen Whiteside
NextOp Vets
Amanda Bullock
NOV
Cassandra Casey
NOV
Renju Jose Kuruvila
NOV
Matthew Pistner
NRG
Alex Dailey
OneGoal
Hayward Williams
Philips 66
Maria Aguirre
Port Houston
Michelle Reyes
Precision Task Group
Massey Villareal
Precision Task Group
Adeeb Barqawi
Pro Unitas
Mary Sizemore
Quanta Services
Mandy Williams
Red&Black Books
Kelly Ingram
Region 4 ESC
Rodney Watson
Region 4 ESC
Fred Oswald
Rice University
Steve Morse
Russell Reynolds
Amber Buras
San Jacinto College
Allatia Harris
San Jacinto College
Brenda Hellyer
San Jacinto College
Elisabeth Nash
SCI
Frazier Wilson
Shell USA
Bart Thomeer
St. Peter Catholic Career and Technical High School
Kara Mings
Stellar Bank
Kenneth Martin
Texas Children's Hospital
Sarah Maytum
Texas Children's Hospital
Jermaine Monroe
Texas Children's Hospital
Ashley Strickland
Texas Mutual
HD Chambers
Texas School Alliance
Brandon Simmons
Texas Southern University
Dora Rodriguez
The Friedkin Group
Lindsey Hill
United Way of Greater Houston
Amanda McMillian
United Way of Greater Houston
Schirell Sidney
United Way of Greater Houston
JR Rao
University of Houston - Engineering
Mallory Peterson
University of St. Thomas
Mitch Beckman
Webber
Mike Feinberg
Work Texas
Scott Marshall
Worley
No one organization can build Houston’s workforce alone.
The Greater Houston Partnership brings regional reach, employer access and the ability to convene across sectors. Employers bring real workforce needs. Educators bring expertise in learning and credentials. Community organizations bring trusted relationships and an understanding of the people this work is intended to serve.
Together, we can build stronger connections between education and work, help businesses grow and help more Houstonians reach family-sustaining careers.
What is good for business and what is good for Houston can move together.
Find your place in the work. Connect with our team to:
- Bring a talent challenge or hard-to-fill role to the table
- Help define the skills and pathways Houston’s employers need
- Connect education, training and community programs to workforce opportunity
- Collaborate on workforce initiatives, pilots and work-based learning experiences
- Help businesses grow and more Houstonians reach family-sustaining careers
Want to learn more about UpSkill Houston or explore how your organization can get involved?