How Texas is closing the education-to-work gap

Axios

12-05-2025

In Texas, 90% of students have been graduating high school — but only 60% have been considered career- or college-ready. Additionally, only 30% have gone on to earn a credential or degree that employers value within six years.
This has been the basic fact the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Texas 2036 calls 90-60-30, and one that the state has been working to address.
Why it's important: Texas 2036 is working to improve these numbers and build a stronger, more prosperous Texas by the state's bicentennial (in 2036).
A stronger pipeline from education to employment is critical to the state's long-term economic success.
How it's done: With support from donors like JPMorganChase, Texas 2036 is using data to develop long-term strategies and support policies that strengthen the connection between high school and careers.
The goal: To expand access to opportunities for a growing state, strengthen communities, and ensure a growing and competitive economy.
Texas 2036 has supported policies aimed at ensuring students graduate high school with the skills and credentials needed to succeed in the state's growing economy, which is now the 8th largest in the world.
An example: Texas employers are demanding more middle-skill workers, defined as those who have attained more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree.
This includes electricians, nurses, technicians and advanced manufacturing roles.
In fact, more than 40% of job listings in Texas are for middle-skill jobs.
Okay, but: Too few Texas students are earning the credentials to meet that demand.
A solution: Texas 2036 is helping shift the conversation — and policy — toward early career preparation in high school, building on landmark community college finance reform in 2023 and expanding access to high-value credentials statewide.
Now, Texas is beginning to close the skills gap, especially through expanded use of community colleges for career-connected learning, such as dual credit courses in high school that give students a head start on valuable credentials.
Additional contributions from Texas 2036 include…
A postsecondary outcomes tool, which tracks student credential attainment across Texas.
The Advanced Coursetaking Dashboard to identify gaps in high-value high school coursework.
The Pathways to Rural Careers in Texas report, which offers policy solutions to expand career opportunities in rural areas.
Engagement with policymakers and education leaders across the state to build sustainable, scalable solutions.
What Texas 2036 is saying: "We as Texans need to change the conversation in our state to really focus on how incredibly important it is to equip our young people for high-wage, high-demand jobs, so that when they're starting their adult work, they're already earning a wage that can support themselves," said Texas 2036 Education and Workforce Policy Director Mary Lynn Pruneda.
Looking ahead: Texas 2036 will continue to unite communities, employers and educators around data-driven solutions that align Texas' education system with workforce needs.
By expanding access to high-quality career pathways and credentials of value, we can ensure Texas students are workforce-ready, employers can find the talent they need and the state can thrive.