Ready to Work is the Bridge to Belief:

• Belief in every person’s ability to contribute;
• Belief in every person’s right to pursue happiness;
• Belief in the value of traditional and non-traditional education; and
• Belief that we all have the power to change the future when we work together.

From the desk of Mike Ramsey, Executive Director of the City of San Antonio's Workforce Development Office

Happy March, everyone! As we welcome the warmer weather, I can feel the excitement and new beginnings in the air, and Ready to Work has a lot of optimistic things to celebrate this month.

March is the month to celebrate women in our program. March 8 is International Women’s Day, and we want to take the opportunity to celebrate our female participants' achievements while increasing the world’s visibility of their abilities. In addition, March 5-11 is National Women in Construction Week, and 2023 marks its 25th consecutive year of recognition. The goal of this week is to highlight the great impact women have made as able contributors to the construction industry. We also want to recognize the participants thriving and paving their path in this male-dominated industry.

March also deservingly serves as Women’s History Month – a time for observance and celebration of the role women have played throughout the history of our great nation.

While we want to celebrate the achievements of all women, it is important to continue the discussion around challenges women continue to face and act as agents to change this stigma. Let’s pledge to create a society that’s diverse, equitable and embracing.

On the partnership front, Ready to Work and Spurs Sports and Entertainment will continue working alongside each other all month long. Spurs Basketball fans can find the high-energy Ready to Work team at several Spurs games throughout the month. Look for our Ready to Work table, hear from the team about the program and grab a co-branded, Spurs and Ready to Work basketball and pendant.

• March 4
• March 10
• March 15
• March 17
• March 29

With sincere gratitude,

Mike Ramsey

Women in Construction - Allie Perez, Texas Women in Trades

To celebrate Women in Construction Week, Ready to Work wants to showcase an organization making strides toward closing the gender gap in the trade industry. Texas Women in Trades was founded in 2013 by Allie Perez, who began working in trades in 2011 and immediately noted the lack of women, minorities and young people and wanted to make a change. Her love for the trades motivated her to share the benefits of a career in trades with others. Now, Texas Women in Trades aims to recruit women, minorities, and young people by providing inspiration and information on construction trades and how that can be used as a viable career path for women.

When asking Allie about the ins and outs of the trade industry, she mentioned that there’s a lot most people don’t know, including the fact that there is a multitude of skilled construction trades in our industry, with the complete list included here.

“Women can do any of these jobs. If you're a mother, you can be a plumber. Women can perform any skilled construction trades job,” says Allie. “Think of a nurse - they often have to lift individuals double their weight, and no one questions a woman's capacity to do that as a nurse. The same should happen for women in skilled construction trades.”

Allie feels that if this industry is better marketed towards women, awareness and desire for the trades will also increase. By sharing the benefits of a skilled construction job, women can begin to see themselves in these jobs.

“Not only will you receive great pay and benefits up to six figures, but you’ll also get the opportunity to get paid training, leaving no school loan debt, tool allowances, and more,” Allie says. “We must inform women about the benefits and options in the construction trades industry. It's as simple as including ‘Women are encouraged to apply’ on job applications.”

Allie feels that recruitment needs to change as a whole and marketing should be increased to everybody, not just women. Currently, the industry’s workforce faces challenges with aging out and lack of replacement.

“There is a skilled labor gap in general. Colleges and universities spend approximately $1 billion annually to recruit and sell the dream of college life. The military also spends approximately $1 billion a year to recruit. As a skilled trades industry, we have not put the time, money and energy into recruitment and retention,” says Allie. “The average age of a master plumber in Texas is 58. The workforce is aging out, and we are not replacing them at the level we need to maintain or grow the workforce in the industry. By changing the approach and reaching out to women, people of color and young people, which are all statistically underrepresented in the skilled construction industry, we can start to fill the labor gap.”

Ready to Work is prepared to provide interested participants with the training and knowledge they need to thrive professionally. The program hopes to become pivotal in filling the labor and gender gap by offering helpful training programs and access to employers seeking workers and contributing beneficial pay with benefits to these positions.

Learn More about Women in Construction Week:

Tradeswomen Panel: March 2, 4:00 p.m.

Register Here

WIC Week Kick Off: March 4, 5:00 p.m.

Register Here

WIC Hot Topic Panel: March 6, 1:00 p.m.

Register Here

Establish Balance & Avoid Burnout: March 9, 12:30 p.m.

Register Here

WIC Week Toast & Recap: March 11, 5:00 p.m.

Register Here

Ready to Change Lives

Thank you to the over 280 local employers that have pledged support for Ready to Work. Employers will help guide the desired training and education of participants to help improve our local economy and to ensure the ultimate success of the program. Being an active and engaged business leader brings benefits to local businesses in the short and long term. These benefits include but are not limited to:

• Access to an expanding talent pipeline 
• City-funded training and educational benefits for eligible employees
• Input on approved training catalog
• Enhanced network of workforce agencies, community resources and local training providers
• Increased contracting and subcontracting opportunities
• Workplace diversity
• Economic development for San Antonio

Take the employer pledge here.

Employer Highlight: San Antonio Independent School District

Ready to Work is excited to call the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) a loyal, pledged employer. We share the same vision, which only strengthens our partnership.

“The San Antonio ISD is an inclusive familia that is the destination for transformational learning,” says SAISD Superintendent Dr. Aquino. “We make the impossible a reality by demonstrating an urgent and relentless commitment to love, nurture, and teach all our students as if they are our own so that they realize their power to shape the world.​”

This familia represents the bond SAISD shares as educators, parents, students, administrators, and community members. That’s why they seek employees who align with their core values - commitment, passion, integrity, respect, teamwork and being student-centered, and feel that Ready to Work also showcases those values.

“The benefits of Ready to Work are twofold for SAISD. Ready to Work provides potential opportunities to our SAISD parents and community that may need retraining, a new opportunity or career while also generating a workforce that San Antonio employers seek,” says Dr. Aquino. “When our parents and community are successful, so is our SAISD familia.”

Ready to Work has the potential to provide its employers with a well-trained workforce, a value SAISD believes can change lives. The program can serve their families by allowing them to access high-demand, high-wage career pathways. In addition, the program provides college and career pathways the SAISD community can access, supporting the success of their overall well-being.

SAISD’s Adult and Community Education department works with Project Quest to locate, test and refer adults into the Ready to Work program. They have referred over 200 adults to Project Quest, every one of them benefitting from the Ready to Work program. Additionally, the program has allowed SAISD to hire qualified participants in several positions, including teachers, accountants, IT personnel, instructional assistants, HVAC and electricians, bus drivers, custodians, administrative assistants, and food service employees, among others.

If you’re looking for a way to get involved with SAISD, contact the SAISD Adult and Community Education department at https://www.saisd.net/page/ace-home or at (210) 554-2450. Staff can assist with finding a college and career pathway that will align with your strengths and passions.

Ready to Serve

The City has partnered with over 30 local organizations to implement the Ready to Work program.

• Creative Noggin, COPS/Metro, MM Creative, and Black Business San Antonio are assisting with community outreach and marketing.
• SA WORX is assisting with employer engagement.
• Workforce Solutions Alamo, Alamo Colleges District, Project QUEST and Restore Education are the City’s prime contractors for intake, assessment and case management services. Subcontractors include Avance, Barcom, C2 Global Services, Chrysalis Ministries, Dynamic Advancement, Empyra, Family Service Association, Goodwill Industries San Antonio, Graduation Alliance, Our Community, Plumquest, Profile Design Studio, SA Food Bank, SAISD, SeeKing HR, Texas A&M San Antonio, WHY Group, Worldwide Languages and YWCA.

Partner Agency Highlight of the Month: Alamo Colleges District

The Alamo Colleges District (ACD). ACD is an integral component of the Ready to Work program. As the largest education and training provider in our region, they make it their mission to empower San Antonio’s diverse communities for success. They’re aiming to eradicate poverty in San Antonio through education and training, which directly aligns with the goal of the Ready to Work program.

Alamo Colleges provides a full portfolio of career technical education, from continuing education and digital badge offerings to academic programs that range from occupational skills awards, certifications, associate degrees, and even four-year university opportunities. As an effective educational presence, they deliver quality programs that are responsive to employer needs and integrate support structures that increase the retention, completion, and employment of their students.

ACD continues to support the work of the Ready to Work program and is excited to see what new innovations are in store for the future.

“This program is the first of its kind. They drive collaboration and accountability across the workforce ecosystem through shared performance goals and data. That’s pretty powerful in and of itself,” says Associate Vice Chancellor Dr. Sammi Morrill. “I believe for the first time we’re thinking collaboratively on how we continuously improve our service model, from community awareness of the program to intake, eligibility, and career “matching,” to retention, support services, and employment.”

ACD hopes to continue matching the talent that comes out of Ready to Work with the needs of local employers, making the transition a seamless one. They encourage employers to give feedback on the skills of the participants and the development of the program so it can always continue to grow. Deliberate collaboration to create systems that better serve the community is key.

“We encourage employers to be a part of advisory boards, internship programs, job fairs, etc. We seek their feedback, so we can improve in meeting their talent needs,” says Sammi. “We can’t do this work effectively without both the participant and the employer at the center.”

For both Ready to Work and Alamo Colleges, participants are worth the investment. Both programs want to invest in their success, it’s just up to them to invest their time, energy and commitment.

“It isn’t quick work, but it’s required work to invest in the quality of life of San Antonio residents and our local economy. It’s about breaking and rebuilding the systems that have been in place for years,” says Sammi. “Those systems have led to generational poverty; however we have a city full of lenient talent and committed partners ready to unlock opportunities. Ready to Work is the connector of these sides and together we’re committed to delivering socioeconomic results, one individual, one family, one community at a time.”

Ready to Engage

Upcoming Events

Ready to Work is reaching into the community throughout San Antonio to ensure the program is a success. Whether you are a community-based organization who wants to leverage Ready to Work to assist your client, or a business owner interested in taking the Employer Pledge, there is a place for you at the table. Below is a partial list of upcoming events. If you are interested in having Ready to Work be a part of one of your events, please contact rtw.help@sanantonio.gov.

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