Building Pathways to Opportunity with Dr. Ben Alexander

In this episode, Ashley sits down with Dr. Ben Alexander, CEO of Workforce Solutions South Plains in Lubbock, Texas. With nearly two decades of experience in higher education and workforce development — including his tenure as Executive Director of Workforce Development at South Plains College — Dr. Alexander has built his career on creating real pathways to opportunity for everyday people.

He holds a doctorate in business management, has championed public policy before state legislators, and was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. Simply put, he knows the workforce landscape inside and out.

In this conversation, Dr. Alexander shares why soft skills — not just hard skills — are the true keys to hireability, and why building those skills needs to start even earlier than we think. It's a perspective that every job seeker, parent, educator, and employer needs to hear.

🌐 Learn more at workforcesouthplains.org

About The Ashley B. Cash Show: The Ashley B. Cash Show features conversations with education leaders, policy experts, parents, teachers and reform advocates who are working to transform K-12 education. Host Ashley B. Cash brings her perspective as both a parent and business owner to explore systemic education issues and practical solutions for creating better outcomes for students, families, and communities.

About Ashley:  As both a mother and business owner, Ashley brings a unique dual perspective to education reform advocacy, driven by her desire for better educational outcomes for future generations and informed by her firsthand experience with the skills gap facing employers today. Her passion for transforming K-12 education stems from witnessing the real-world consequences of educational failures and recognizing the critical need for a system that prepares students for diverse career pathways, not just college. Through this podcast, Ashley champions solutions including aptitude-based education tracks, expanded school choice, practical skills integration, and alternative career pathways that align with students' individual strengths and interests.

Follow @AshleyBCashOfficial on Instagram & @Ashley Bowes Cash on Facebook.

Visit www.AshleyBCashOfficial.com for more content and features. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Ashley V Cash Show. I'm super excited because today we have a very special guest from right here in Lubbock, Texas. It is Dr. Ben Alexander, the CEO of Workforce Solutions South Plains. Dr. Alexander brings nearly two decades of experience in higher education and workforce development. Most recently as executive director of the workforce development at South Plains College in Loveland, where he spent years connecting local businesses with the talent they need to grow. He holds a doctorate in business management, has championed public policy before the state legislators, and was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. He's someone who spent his career making sure people have real pathways to opportunity. And we're excited to hear what he has to say today. Dr. Alexander, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Ashley, thank you so very much. It's good to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Well, I'm so glad that you're here. You and I met not too long ago, but the second I saw you, I was like, oh my gosh, I have got to talk to him and I have to have him on the show because I say all the time in my quest to transform the K through 12 education system that I want to make sure every child has opportunity and that they have the skills to create and build a meaningful life for themselves. And I think that that means that they need to be able to have a good job workforce.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Absolutely. In fact, workforce is the foundation to education, and then vice versa. I mean, without skilled people going into the workforce, there is no workforce, and then vice versa, without those individuals that we are training to help develop the workforce. So this kind of this dance, I suppose, of both education and workforce.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

So you are the CEO of the workforce solutions South Plains. I know that you all have five locations here around Lubbock. It's Lubbock, Loveland, Mule Shoe, Brownfield, and Plainview.

unknown 2:07

That is correct.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Um, and so you have offices in all of those that you're over, but there are also a total of 28 workforce solutions across the state.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Indeed. So, and you summed it up so well. So, for the most part, the 28 workforce boards covers all of the state of Texas. We get to be in the South Plains that covers 15 counties in the South Plains. And so there are strategic workforce centers within these 15 counties that are meant to serve the needs of individuals coming through, looking for work, looking for the ability to retrain. And then also just work readiness. These particular centers are also strategically located in order to partner with businesses that are also looking for employees. And so you got it on the head. Five different locations for the specific needs of our counties.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

And you in particular help people who are looking for work, right? And you help them to find jobs, you help them to locate potential jobs all across Texas. That's right. And then, but you also provide training, correct?

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Indeed. And so because of the workforce center's location, so we're covering some of the rural areas as well as you mentioned Lubbock. Lubbock, of course, is one of our hubs, and so we cover all of the things in Lubbock. But the mule shoes and the brownfields, plain views are the opportunity to cover some of our rural locations that are looking for employees or businesses that are looking for employees. And so when you talk about skilling and training them, we provide the funding resources to train individuals to those businesses. When we talk about career readiness, we train individuals coming through the centers how to be job ready, whether that's resume writing, whether that is interview skills and tips, or for the most part, just how to go about a job search and prepare themselves for the job market.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

I love that. So career training classes this last year. I know there was quite a bit of CTE that was added this last year by the state legislature. But like when you are seeing these people that are coming in, what skills are they? I mean, apart from very specific skills for a specific corporation, in general, what skills are you finding that they are needing to brush up on or get better at?

SPEAKER_01 4:54

That's a very good question. In fact, it's a constant question. And it is also a question that some of our businesses ask of us when we're sending uh individuals that come through our centers to a job interview. They want to know, first of all, that is there a technical skill that these individuals have, and most often there is one. And if there is not one, and then of course we can provide uh credential training dollars or where they can go to school and get these credentials. But beyond the technical skills, employers are really looking for work-ready people with a mindset to work, with soft skills, the ability to communicate, really the ability to show an interest and a passion for work and the job itself, to where you can work alongside of groups, work alongside of your co-workers, show up on time. And so some of these soft skills, not have your phone in front of you, isn't that interesting? Because we're living in that uh day of technology or the technology age, and and it's just convenient to have those devices, but when it's time to to work in that environment, one for safety reasons, two for productivity. And so they're looking for uh a person to come in that may possess a certain skill, technical skill, but then also would possess just I hate to say it, some common sense ability to work.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah. Um, so when I talk about the transformation of K through 12 education system that I would like to see, I always focus on those soft skills. And so for me, I believe that every child should be able to read and read well. Because if you can read, you can help yourself learn anything. I believe that they should be good communicators. I believe that they should be able to think critically, and I believe that they should be able to problem solve.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Let me stop you. Because that actually happens before you get to school. It happens before pre-K. It should. And so if these that you mentioned, if it's happening early on, then it makes the education process a whole lot easier. But when it doesn't, those are the critical years to start to teach those particular skills.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Well, now everything in me wants to ask me, how do you do that? How do you do that? You're a dad, you're a you're you're a husband, and you're you're a dad to three. I bel I believe that you referred to them as your um experiments a minute ago. And I totally feel that as a mom because like you think you know what you're doing, and then you have the next child and you're like, I don't know what I'm doing. Um, I wish God gave us all a manual with each child because they're all individuals. With the Bible, yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Well, you know what? I uh I do get a lot of help. I uh I was I was fortunate enough, smart enough, blessed enough to uh marry a woman that was not from West Texas. And let me make sure that I say this correctly. I grew up in West Texas, so a lot of West Texas uh roots and values that that are here, but I married a woman that are real good, but I married a woman from Houston, Texas, who also have values. And so from an inner city uh mix with good old West Texas values, we raised three incredible kiddos. Um, my my three kiddos, uh first of all, my wife is from Houston, and so she was a transplant, or let me say like this: she was going to Texas AM at the time that we met, and I like to say that I got her good and baptized in West Texas. She gave up her full-ride scholarship at Texas AM, transferred to Texas Tech University, and uh took root, uh established roots here with me. And we raised three incredible kiddos in in the public school systems. The oldest finished up at Lubbach High, uh, I think in 2018. He went on to Harvard, uh, Harvard College in Boston, finished his degree there, went on to uh work for Boston Consulting Group, BCG in Austin, and got real good experience in the world of work. Now he's applying to law school. The middle child also grew up right here in West Texas and went on to finished up at Talkington, went on to Xavier University, uh, an HBCU in New Orleans, and finished up in a with a science degree. She's applying to medical school. The last one, this is it, this is the weekend, he graduates, Love a guy, on Saturday with his mindset on biomedical engineering, and so he has a toss-up of colleges that he has to choose from and signed on the daddy line real soon. Uh, and so he'll be off in his first year uh heading towards engineering.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

And all of a sudden you and your wife will be empty nesters.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Almost. Almost. You know, though they always come back. They do. They come back. So, but uh, yeah, we're we're we're fortunate, we're blessed. And so they are my experiments, but by the grace of God, I think uh I think his hand is upon them.

unknown 10:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Well, they're they're for sure off to a good start.

unknown 10:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

So good job, you. Well thank you and your wife.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

I was about to say, I blame my wife. I blame her. But to your point, you were talking about you know the the pillars that you mentioned earlier, but I think that a part of that too was just exposure to uh early-on literacy, exposure to uh location, or at least introducing them to geographical regions that perhaps we don't see on a on a daily basis or we won't see unless we go beyond. So travel was a part of our experience as well to kind of expose them to a world that is bigger than our current location, but also brings value back to our current location.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

And that you can take value from your location to those other places. So I love what you guys are doing with the workforce solutions. I love that you are, you know, taking people who maybe don't have the skill set they need and giving them new skill sets to help them get a better job. Now, I uh you've got several different programs that you offer there. Um you want to talk a little bit about a few of them?

SPEAKER_01 11:12

Sure. I'll I'll I'll name them. And you know, we're living in a world of acronyms, right? So there's the WIO pro IOA program, WIOA WIOA. And this particular program will allow funding to go specifically towards credential building. In other words, if a person comes in and is eligible for the training, they can get um funding dollars to finish up a a high demand degree or high demand field training uh on our eligible training provider list, meaning that if they are looking to change careers to become a CNA, then we can provide training dollars for that. An LVN, we can provide training dollars for that. On the other side of that, if it's more of a technical field, hands-on field and welding or automotive, we provide training dollars for that. Based on eligibility, meaning that they perhaps are coming in and their earning power is lower, or is that a threshold that will allow them to receive these receive the funding options, then they can change careers, move their future economy to a level that that is going to be helpful to them both in this generation, but then it starts to create generational opportunities for their kiddos.

unknown 12:29

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

But you also work with employers. So say you're an employer like my business, and I'm looking for a very specifically skilled person, I could come to you and say, This is what I'm looking for, and you would either say, Great, we have this person, or help me train someone, is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Give me a reading on our website because you're hitting it out of the hard. That is exactly it. So if an employer has an interest in um maybe increasing their workforce, there's two ways or several ways that they can do that. One of them is that we have grant opportunities that are specific for businesses. Our small skills grant is specifically for businesses where they can apply for the grant and do the training themselves on in their facilities because now it's customized to them, and then they can get the employee that they want. We have other training dollars that we actually will send their employer, employee off to training through another grant opportunity based on what that employer says that they need. Let's say that it is indeed machining, then they can go through a machining, uh, cred uh machining program and get credentials, become a machinist, go back to their employer. Their employer is now under the impression, until they see them do the work, they're under the impression that they are now trained and ready to go. This helps the employer improve their improve their operations, and at the same time, the employer with this particular grant will increase their wages, their family. Absolutely. And so now you have this this this buy-in, it is, and it helps with their employee retention, it helps with the family members' economy as well. So there's a win-win on on in any of these programs for from the employer side to in the employee side.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

And are you seeing a pretty steady influx of like what are you seeing as far as people who are looking and employers who are looking?

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Is that kind of equal or is it there is so our unemployment rate is so low, 3.5. So three point but it fluctuates between 3.5 and 3.3. And as a result of that, there is a clamor, depending on the industry, there is a clamor for people to be employed with these companies. And so take the healthcare industry, for instance. There's a shortage of nurses, that's that's not a secret. There's a shortage of healthcare workers all across. And so some of what we do, rather than uh one person that is trained in a given field, leaving one healthcare institution to go across the street to work for another healthcare institution because maybe they'll increase their salary by 25 cents. What we've tried to do is create a pipeline of healthcare professionals that we're training on a constant basis with our funding opportunities, to where now they have a pool of people that they will choose or pick from. And now we're not only helping these uh businesses and employers, but we're also increasing, if you would, the number of people going into industry. And so there's this uh constant back and forth opportunity to communicate, to have conversations, to have these smaller settings to where the industry and employers tell us what their needs are, and then we want to customize or partner with them to help meet that need. And that's just one example of businesses coming to us. Sometimes we will go to them to find out, you know, is there a shortage? So to answer your original question, yes, there is a shortage based on the unemployment rate, and so it's a back and forth. Sometimes employers will come to us, sometimes we will go to them, sometimes we will send them our list of eligible people in our system, in our work in Texas system at our workforce centers.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Now, you've been doing this for a while, but you have been in education much longer. But but doing a similar thing, right? You were involved in workforce, but on the inside of South Plains College. And so similar, how how is that different today, being outside versus being inside a university system?

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Honestly, it is it is an advantage in the sense that there's some built-in relationships, some built-in partnerships from uh the college to the workforce system. Uh previously, as a executive director of workforce development, there was this opportunity to talk with workforce solutions uh at the time to find what programs best fit our students. And now it's it's kind of flipped. Now we're knowing, we know, for example, instance, that a college will have a certain curriculum that they were trained for. And we're allowing now the colleges to tell us even on a greater level of which students are graduating, and we're identifying those students and sending them specifically to employers. And so this back and forth is a complement. The previous role that I played is a compliment to the role that I'm playing now by building and constantly talking uh with instructors about what um what is coming down the pipe, what is the latest technology uh that is out there that you're training on, or what technology do you need, because we also provide technology dollars or equipment dollars to our school systems. We've we've this past cycle along, we've spent over $150,000 in equipment in equipment dollars, sending it to our ISDs as well as to our colleges to make sure that they have the right equipment that is up to date, the right equipment that has the ability to basically turn the turn the corner on where industries are leading us. And so we're where there's this partnership is vital to help helping to train the workforce, but also helping to educate our our individuals.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Give me an example of some of that equipment that you've been providing.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

So for our culinary programs, um our one of our culinary institutes had the well, the college has a culinary program as well as our ISDs, and so we were able to provide up-to-date refrigeration equipment. We were able to provide uh other equipment from the color um like knives and and different uh equipment that was necessary, mixers, all of those. On the uh technology on the um skills training side, we provided welding, solders, we provided machinist equipment. And so uh one of our rural communities that you know when you're so far out and you kind of somewhat feel isolated to have a partnership uh with the workforce solutions system and even to have an office nearby. We're able we were able to have a one-on-one conversation with the superintendent to find out the need, and we were able to send our students through these programs with uh highly trained individuals or the latest technology equipment, so that when they went into the workforce, they had a skill level that some of the businesses hadn't caught up to yet. Automotive was one, the various equipment that was purchased for the automotive uh training um at the college. Much of this equipment is not yet in some of the um in some of the automotive centers, and some, some are, but some that are that are kind of falling behind. Our students are are at a advantage now because they're entering into a place that I think uh will not only bring this uh automotive technology center up to uh maybe modern times, but it also helps everyone.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

Now, the majority of the people come to you looking for jobs, like what's the age range?

SPEAKER_01 20:21

That's a good question. So there are bears programs that are age-specific, like for our youth program. It starts from 14 to 24, and we've got to be very, very careful because when you get to the age of past 18, you don't want to be called a youth anymore. And so we got to disguise. Young persons, our young persons. Exactly. So we got to be creative in when we're offering uh training. And so for our youth program, they can start early as 14 years of age to get them acclimated to the world of work, or really just to be in the in the environment to see is this a field that I have an interest in. And a lot of times we ask, well, what do you want to be when you grow up? Who who knows? But when we're exposing them to industry at an early age or exposing them to opportunities, it helps them to think critically and creative creatively so that they're focusing now on what do I want to be when I grow up rather than just blurting something out. And so from 14 to 24 is one age group that we reach. We can go all the way up to 64 years of age with some of our SNAP benefit programs and other programs. So it's a wide range of ages that we're able to cover.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Yes, because on your website I saw that you help people find jobs and get skills, and then you help the businesses find skilled employees or also do training. And then I also saw that you do have some programs like child care.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Which is fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Because I was saving that for so long. That was dessert. That's dessert. So so take for instance because these are real life situations, right? I um I'm I'm I'm a I'm a father of two or three or a single parent of two. Um my economy is not where I want it to be, and in order for me to get there, exactly. In order for me to do better for my family, I need I need a better job. So I need credentials in order to get a better job. Let's say that I do want to go into health care. Exactly. I want to go back to school and I want to get into health care. Well, the problem is, or my barrier is I have young kiddos at home. And so we have child care subsidies or child care provisions for those that are wanting to get back into school or those that are wanting to work uh while in school, our child care subsidies will allow them to put their kiddo into daycare uh while they work or while they go back to school. And this, I think, is is also life-changing because again, if we're thinking about it generationally, now I've just changed my present state that's going to have an effect on my kiddos.

SPEAKER_00 23:01

You know, and that's something that I love about you, and I I I caught on to this really fast. You and I both have a shared passion, which is we both want to make sure that every child and every person can have the skills they need to take good care and have a good life for themselves, but also for their family and to create generational improvement.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

And I love that. Um, and that's that's the entire reason that I'm working on education. Um, and so I want to delve a little bit deeper into your education experience.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

It's about to get scary now.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Um, you know that I keep saying that I want to transform education, that I want to bring it back to skills-based learning. You've been doing this 20 years. Are you seeing a difference in the kids who are graduating today, the young people that are coming to you today in the skills that they have versus, say, the kids of 10 or 20 years ago?

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Okay. So I'm gonna relate it to maybe what is happening in workforce, yeah, and then hopefully maybe bring that back full circle. So some of what I think is so helpful in some of the things that we're doing in workforce is workforce-based learning. Meaning a person uh no matter their age, well, uh their age requirement for certain fields, there is gonna be an age requirement for certain fields, 18 and or older. All of those things. But to get them in the industry on the floor of a plant or an operation to kind of see what is happening, this work workforce-based learning, workplace-based learning will allow them to do that. And we have several means in which to do that, whether that's through internships or whether that's through an apprenticeship apprenticeship program, they are able to see the world of work and in some instances be paid to do this. And if we're able to do this uh at a critical juncture in their life, early on in their life, then I think that it creates for them, again, the creative way of thinking about what do I want to do five years from now, ten years from now. Now, with the push in education, there is this career readiness, career pathways that legislat legislature is is guiding our school systems towards. And a part of that is creating career pathways that will lead to a future, an economic future, as well as a future that is going to drive them towards a career. And so one of the things that you mentioned was K through 12, and I'm glad you mentioned K through 12 because the learning curve starts really, really early on. And I think that the focus, even now, more so than ever, is an early on start towards career pathway thinking so that before they get to middle school or as they're approaching middle school, they would have already been exposed. And so we have the wonderful opportunity of exposing uh anyone and everyone, uh, every age group to the world of work early on, whether that's through our we have several job fairs. One of them is specific to middle school, it's called job y'all's and it's a plethora of businesses and industries that are in one place and students are able to come and see for themselves what is taking place in the world of work, um, everything from the police department um to actual um uh businesses that are self that are self-owned and people able to talk candidly about their start. And so we do that with the middle school kiddos. We have a career expo with high schoolers, but the key, as we mentioned earlier, is exposing and getting the language in early, even as early as um as a grade school. And so we do that also through presentations or the opportunities to present to school-age kiddos. And so for me, it's a no-brainer that exposure to opportunities at an early age leading into uh these career choices, I believe begins the wheel turning towards actually someone that is going to be successful towards a career path. And it also saves time and money in the sense that if I know that I'm squeamish in the sense with blood and some of the other yucky stuff in healthcare, you don't go the medical route. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

Or like I took my kids to do Ames testing. I don't know if you've heard of that. It's a group out of Dallas and they do aptitude testing, interest testing, a whole battery of testing. And at the end of it, they come back and they're some of the things I found fascinating and I learned about myself in the process was they look at you and decide, are you a generalist or a specialist? Like are you somebody that wants to know a little bit about everything and help bring specialists together? Or are you a specialist and you want to know everything about one thing and you want to be an expert in it? Right? And they because that may decide different careers for you. They also look at are you an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert?

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Take me back to my old, my early days in the academics.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

And um, and then they look at are you somebody that wants to do kind of have a lot of structure, you want to do the same thing every day? Or are you a person that likes to have a lot of variation, right? And then in addition to your God-given abilities, your innate talents, right, your aptitudes, um, along with your interests, they they look through all the careers that exist that you can have a good career at. And they are like, okay, here are some that align best with what you're doing, right? And um I I from that experience with my own kids, I think that that's something that we need to be providing to every child. Um, because everybody has their own little microcosm that they live in. It's the things they've been surrounded by, the things they've seen, the things they've heard, and that that is what they know and hold to be true, but they don't know what they don't know.

unknown 29:35

That is so true.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

And I feel like there are a lot of kids in our education system, K through 12 and even college, who have looked around at what they've been exposed to and are like, I don't really see anything I love, but I don't they don't know anything else, right? And sometimes they go to they're like, well, I gotta go get a college degree, and they're like, Oh, that sounds like a good college degree. And last week, TechSech was graduating and I was talking to a bunch of graduates. I'm like, what are you gonna do? They're like, I don't know. And I was like, you just paid, or your parents just paid a lot of money for a college degree and you're not sure what you're gonna do. Like, that's a problem. Um, and so, but I also think it is one of those things where you can connect the dots on why are you getting educated with what you can do with it? Right and getting kids excited about a career they maybe never were exposed to, never knew anything about, but that would so match the way God has built them and made them, and I think might get them closer to finding their purpose, that I just feel like we're missing this key point. Okay, so what's the solution? I think aptitude and testing for every child, and then lining up careers and saying, here's all these different careers. If you like sciences, here's all the different careers that you can be. If you're a specialist, here's all the things, careers that you can specialize in. If you're a generalist, here's ways that you can be a generalist in science-based things, right? If you're somebody that likes to work with your hands, but you don't want to sit in a cubicle all day. Here are careers, possibly in the trades or different things. And it would be lots of options. And then the child andor their parents would kind of pick a pathway to go toward that. Now, I think that there is as much benefit to, say, a trade school education as there is to a kid sitting in a classroom all day studying chemistry, biology, and physics. And I think that at the end of all of those things, that they should all be better prepared for college if that's the route they want to go. Like if they get through the trade or partway through the trade and they're like, maybe this isn't for me, maybe I do want to go to college. I think that those human skills that they've learned, right? Interacting with people on the daily basis, learning how to put things together, um, learning to weld or or learning how to start being an electrician are still building skills that can be relevant and useful in college.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

I I can join that choir that you're singing from, indeed, because truth be told. So now you're taking me back, I guess, maybe to my classroom experience that you know, when when I taught at the college and what have you. You have a classroom full of college students, and some, you know, are there figuring it out as you speak. So one of the courses specifically, specifically to um career building was a career course that we did the aptitude testing for every student that was in the Myers Briggs and those uh interest uh tests to help students identify their career pathway. But to your point, this idea of doing this uh early because now phases uh of life was is gonna take place from grade school to middle school and so forth. And so not just doing it once, but having the opportunity to do assessments on a given season in a student's life, I think it's gonna be so helpful because in so doing, not only does it expose them, I guess, maybe to their own personality, it expose them to the personality that may fit into a given industry or or workplace, but it saves time and money in the long run.

SPEAKER_00 33:30

Because you're right, if I've just finished a four-year degree and um and then you find out that yeah, you don't like it. Yeah, and then it's a lot of money and a lot of times.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

Or if I'm constantly changing majors because I haven't found that fit, well, have you had the opportunity to sit down? Have you done have have you completed an assessment? Where are you in the process of helping yourself or equipping yourself with information about where you want to go and what you want to do? So I I I certainly agree.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

Well, and many high schools have um aptitude testing or different interest testing, whether it's Myers Brig or disc testing and different things. But it's an elective, like you have to ask for it. Right, right. So parents out there, kids out there who are watching, know that your high school may have this, and if they do, you should avail yourself of it or get it for your kids because it could help them decide what they want to do for their future. Um, and then so do most colleges. But it's elective. Yes, it's elective. And I think it needs to be a requirement.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

But that's where you were going with that. And and too, sometimes, so you have on this side, uh, on the college side, you have this group that says, yes, it needs to be mandatory. It's somewhat like the orientation. It needs to be mandatory in order for them, in order for a student to get the best out of their college experience. Then you have the other side that says, well, should they pay for a course that is not necessarily transferable credit? Well, is it not transferable credit? It it transfers into their life experience. And so you have have the debate. And so a a part of that debate is also if a student is is Pell grant eligible, should the federal government pay for a particular course that is not going to translate or or transfer over to their next level if they're moving from a community college to a university, is that course going to transfer? And so you kind of have this debate.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

And those are conversations that absolutely have to be had, but I would argue okay, so when I go and talk to people about, I don't believe every child should take chemistry, biology, and physics, algebra, trigonometry.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Why not? It should be painful enough for the child.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

Because I think that they should get skills that are more applicable to their future. Now, there are kids that absolutely need out chemistry, biology, physics, algebra, and trigonometry if they want to go into a STEM-based field. But I have people all the time who tell me, well, but we need more STEM-based jobs. So we're giving everyone these courses to find the ones to expose them to this so that then they know so they go into the STEM-based jobs. And my reaction is let's do the aptitude testing and interest testing. Identify the kids that are STEM-based, and then for the first time ever, instead of letting them have to figure it out by taking chemistry, biology, and physics, let's say, hey, you are very inclined towards STEM careers. By the way, here's all the STEM careers that you could have. You know, you could be an aerospace engineer, you could be a scientist that is finding the next medication that's going to cure cancer, you could be a biologist that is creating the next vaccines. Whatever, right? You could be developing the next part of AI. Um I think, like, I think the that we have a good idea of what we need, but I think we're just going about it the wrong way. I think instead we find their aptitude for it and then expose them to all their opportunities, especially those that are in need and that they can make a good living at, and then let them and their parents pick which way they want to go.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Yeah, yeah. You you you say some, okay, so let's let's talk of it and talk about it in these terms because you're talking about aptitude testing and exposure, what have you, uh, just from an experience. So to that point. I loaded up a busload of students, two busloads, as a matter of fact, um to expose them to industry. Um I took them to Halliburton, and Halliburton is an incredible opportunity for technical uh for anybody going into a technical field. And so I loaded up these students so that they can see for themselves uh what is taking place if they uh qualify to put on the red jumpsuit. So the red jumpsuit, Halliburton, if you if you earn that, yeah, you are in and and now you got bragging rights. And so there was this idea: do I qualify for the red jumpsuit? Is this where I want to do? But the the idea is to expose individuals to get them excited. To get them excited. And I think that that's what some aptitudes and assessments are are are designed to do is to introduce this idea of this career field, is it a match and a fit for you? So that's on paper. But I think that even beyond that, I think getting work-based learning, work course-based learning is essential to helping to guide the thought, helping to guide the interest, and then also when the light bulb comes on that this is where I'm supposed to be, now you know that you got to win, you got a match.

SPEAKER_00 39:00

Well, and I think you take the two things and you combine them. I think you do the one, and possibly you do it several times throughout their time in K-12, and even once they're in a college, right? You're doing the aptitude and interest as things change and whatever develop. And then I think when you have narrowed it down to like a couple of areas, then you start exploring those workforce and really diving in deeper and figuring out well, I thought I wanted to do, like I have a child who thinks he wants to be an engineer, but he hasn't really focused in on what type of engineering that he wants, right? But I think what he needs to do now is go be exposed to different types of engineering, see what are they working on, how do they work on it? Is it done in a in a cubicle or are they out in the field? Because I think he would be much better out in the field than he's going to be in a little cubicle. But he's gonna have to determine that for himself. But I think the best way that you do that is through, like you're saying, the exposure.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

We we act like we're reinventing this, and it's and we're not. It's already out there because when you take the medical field, for instance, if if you're doing your your rotations, if you're you know you're in the medical field, you're they're gonna put you into certain um uh medical areas that now you you're you're figuring out is this is this the area that I'm going to study, is this where I'm going to land? And I think just taking that approach along and applying it to so many other different industries or so many other different disciplines, I think is a part of that learning process. So some hands-on, some classroom, just kind of a combination of all of those things.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

Well, and I think like when I first went to work in banking, they made me work every single job in every single department, right? And because you think bank banking is a specific thing, but it's actually very varied, right? You could be the person who works directly with the customers, you could be the person who does auditing in the back, you could be the loan officer for not just a mortgage, but how about the loan officer for a vehicle, or how about the loan officer for a company loan, right? And so they're very, very, but but yet we say, Oh, I want to be in banking, oh, I want to be in science, I want to be in, and yet into that field there are so many different options. And that's what the kids don't have the exposure to. And and I learned this myself with my own son when he's like, I think I'm gonna get a finance degree because I want to be in banking. I was like, All right, guess what you now get to go? Go apply to three different banks, and you're gonna have a summer job. And he went through it, and at the end of the day, he's like, Yeah, I'm not sure I like banking, you know. But he would that was gonna be, I said, keep your finance degree. There are other options. Banking is not the only option with a finance degree, right? And so now he's out exploring more options with his finance degree. Yeah, but this is what we need to do for every single child.

SPEAKER_01 42:01

You're absolutely right.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

So I'm trying to figure out how do we systemize it and turn it into get it into the education system early enough that we're not losing students, that they're not having to take courses that they don't understand why they're taking, and that make them possibly not feel very smart, and that that I have seen also drops their confidence level.

unknown 42:24

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 42:24

Right. And that maybe makes them think they're not as good as others. I don't want that for any child. I want them all to be the amazing people that that God has built them to be, and I want them to find a way to get closer to their purpose through careers and different things that are interesting and fascinating to them and have them excited about life.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Sure, sure. I think you want what others want. I just don't think that we've opened up the right doors to expose.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

That's what I'm trying to do is open up more doors. I like looking at both the forest and the trees. Yeah. So I like defining the problem and then I like trying to figure out solutions to fix it.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

So are you taking are you taking an axe to it, or are you taking like uh shrubbery scissors or what what what happened?

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Well, it's all gonna depend on what the state legislature does. But um, I think that you know, in the history of education, we have had four transformations of our education system: 1913, 1933, 1953, and in the mid to late 80s.

unknown 43:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 43:33

That's been over 40 years.

unknown 43:35

It's time for a change.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

It's time for a change. And we know that the system that we have today is failing the children on every metric we're failing the kids. And that's not just Texas, that's across the country. Texas did some great things this last legislative session, made a lot of headway, but I feel like it is just plugging holes on a sinking ship, and we really need to be turning that ship into a spaceship, especially with AI. The workforce that we have needed to date is going to be vastly different than the workforce we need in 10 years. So I think we're at a place where we really do need to look at it and say, what is what are the workforce needs going to be of the next five years, 10 years, 15 years? And how do we start transforming the education system, the K through 12 education system? And then college will need to transform as well to meet those needs so that these kids can actually have good careers for themselves.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

Yeah. I was um last Sunday night, so I was I was talking with a group of uh my high school friends, and we were just talking about, hey, it's time for us to kind of get together as a guy group and and and just have fun. But one of the things that were that that came up out of the conversation was you know, where uh what what do you think about where AI is taking us and and what have you? And AI, I guess, uh when we talk about it in that term, is is was it as foreign to us in high school. So we thought that AI is is is just this this this new thing. But one of my uh friends kind of broke it down and said, well, when we think of it in the sense that you you remember the old calculators or what have you that could do all of these functions.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

That was that was a uh we've had it for a while.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

Absolutely. And so the qu the the conversation kind of centered around well, how do we prepare not only ourselves, but how do we prepare our kiddos for a tool that is so prevalent now, and how do we expose uh in in my world anyway, how do we expose uh industry, the needs of industry to our employees or those that are in our centers that are looking for employment. Well, what we're discovering, finding out that some of our institutions they're preparing and making ready for AI technology by teaching the some of the curriculum for uh AI technology. And I say that to say this is that this idea of of education and the workforce, it's a continuous circle and it has to go hand in hand. If not, we will certainly have, you know, either create uh our a group that there is a big gap, but unless we constantly do what you're doing, be an advocate in some in some instances, but then ask some of the questions of what should we be doing and how do we need it? And that's where I find myself is asking the industry, how do we prepare the workforce? What are your needs? I'm asking institutions of higher learning, grade school uh or ISDs, how do we prepare the next generation of workers for industry? And so this constant back and forth language is going to be necessary.

SPEAKER_00 46:46

Absolutely. And um, so my my big ask this year, and I I've got some some legislators I'm talking to this next week, is I I I would like to see us create a task force. Um I was listening to a speaker actually just today who was talking about um, you know, they're all the people who think that this is gonna be AI is gonna be apocalyptic. And she said exactly what you said. She said, We've actually been experimenting with AI for more than 50 years, and that there have been people who have planning, been planning for this. But what she is seeing the failure in is that we're not planning for the transition because this all of a sudden, like AI has been happening, and most people didn't realize it when they got their calculator and when they got their first computer and whatever, that it was actually AI. But now it's like grown. And I think I heard Elon Musk say today that in the next 10 years, he thinks that the knowledge of the computers will outpace any kind of human knowledge, right? And that he thinks that there will be a billion, a billion robots working in people's houses, working in jobs, doing all those things. So this lady was saying no one has built the transition system to take our workforce from what we're preparing them for today to what that is going to look like because a lot of jobs, I mean, the reality is a lot of jobs AI is going to take over. But there are other jobs, there are other jobs to create. Right. And that's the transition that we have to be creating. And I think it needs to start in the K-12 education system. One of the reasons I think that is because in Texas, the new numbers out of the TEA, in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission, is that six they've now tracked kids for six years after high school. And they have found that six years after high school, 36% of high school graduates have received a college degree, a junior college degree, or any kind of trade certification. And I said, what happened to the other 64%? Because I think that you are going to see a loss of jobs in both the blue collar and the white collar. But these people need, for their own personal sake, to be not just employed, but to have jobs that are fulfilling to them, I think. Right? And um so like it's that transition that I'm trying to create, that we are actually transitioning, and in this transitional time, we need to be also transitioning or transforming our education system.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

And I don't know which order it's going in, right? I don't know if it's if it's starting with um grade school moving up into higher education. I was at a um I was at a um conference, or actually it was a shared experience with uh one of our workforce boards that's in Central Texas. And so we were there, um, and one of the uh opportunities that we got to tour was a plant that uh the equipment itself was sponsored by Meta. So Meta was paying for all of this AI technology and AI equipment. But the lab itself was basically a lab that was set up to design a robot that was uh able to do various functions uh as it related to um a PLC or uh program logic control. And this particular robot um was was uh was teaching the class itself what the functions need to be for production.

SPEAKER_00 50:45

Yeah the functions that it's needed for production. So now you're saying we may not need teachers. Somebody had to go away. Although I think some of the the some of the AI is doing some programming of other things as well. Like I think but I think that I think we absolutely have to keep humans involved.

SPEAKER_01 51:06

Because you still got the management behind all of that, all of that instructor. So it's a shift in the type of job, or it's a shift in what is what is what is needed. But at some point there is a foundation, there is a middle, and then there is the ultimate product in and of itself. And in between each of those layers, you have individuals that have to find their niche or what is gonna what is going to be best. And I just thought it was so incredible that a company like Meta is providing providing this technology because they are way on this side of it, and then they are kind of driving industry and driving and leading what where we're going.

SPEAKER_00 51:47

And that the task force that I'm wanting to create, or I'm wanting the legislature to create, um, you would have some legislators, you would have some teachers, superintendents, administration to tell you how the K-12 system works, right? And you would have scientists who are like, here is are the important things that the developing brain needs to have, like things that cross from the left side to the right side of your body to build synapses. I mean, there are things, and because there are lots of people who are saying, oh, all education is going to go to AI-based learning. Well, Finland did that, and they've now completely stopped, and they've gone back to where they've gotten rid of all computers except for when they're teaching computer class, because they found that they lost a lot of things in the shift to complete screens. And they lost those times when you're crossing body left to right and handwriting and writing out your sentences and doing all those things, that it actually builds synapses in the brain. And without that, the the brain doesn't develop quite normally. Right. And um, so like, but I think the answer needs to come somewhere in the middle where there are certain things that absolutely need to be done, especially early age, that are done kind of a more traditional way that we've done them, um, where we're back to the science of reading and we're we're actually doing our handwriting and we're printing and we're doing cursive because there is value in that as well. Um, but and then we're reading books. And then at some point in time you start to shift to more uh computer-based, more AI learning later, right? But we cannot forget that communication is one of the most important and most effective tools that humans have. And so if we allow the screens to just completely take over, and we're seeing a lot of that, that there are negatives from that as well, right? So this task force is all about looking at the good that we've had historically, looking at what other countries are doing, looking at what science says is good and important, and then also but looking at the bad and where can we have vast amounts of improvement, but in the perspective of where is our future going? What do these kids really need to be able to have? What do they need to do? And taking the good parts and creating a new system that fits with our everybody's future.

SPEAKER_01 54:17

Yeah, yeah. You know, and and shame of us, shame on us. I don't think either one of us have mentioned the dynamic of exercise or play uh art into any of this. And and and I would imagine that, you know, just kind of based on the study that that you just shared, that that has to be in play of all of the learning aspects of it.

SPEAKER_00 54:41

I I I firmly as a I'm a believer and have seen lots of studies that the children should not be sitting at a desk eight hours a day.

unknown 54:49

Right.

SPEAKER_00 54:50

That they need to be up and moving. And and I really like the model, like a more Montessori-based model early on, where they have play centers and they can move around and do, and they get to go outside and play and come back in. And and when you see the the state of the kids shifting and they're like the movement is getting really up, you take them outside and go do something, or take them down to the gym and go do something, and you you are able to be proactive but reactive to their needs in any given day, in any given moment, right? And um, but but getting the important things into the classroom at the same time. And like our teachers are absolutely amazing, and they they've been taught methods that will totally translate to this system, and and that's but that's why all the different people have to come to the table. We have to have the educators there, we have to have the legislators there to help write the legislation to make the changes. We have to have people who are in policy, people who are the scientists and the people who have the information on what are the good things, what are the things that need to be changed, you know, that bring all the different parts to it. And we also have to have industry involved. We have to know where it's going, where is the workforce going, where are the workforce needs going, because these kids need to be able to either be an entrepreneur and create their own business, or to be able to get a really good job to take care of their families.

SPEAKER_01 56:14

Sure, absolutely. I I still see um this dynamic of workforce and education, uh, the hand in hand in hand. It is always going to be, yeah. I was at a um I was at I was touring actually uh a couple of plants, a couple of facilities. And um in this tour of these plants and facilities. Okay, in this tour of these plants and facilities, uh, you know, you were talking about uh I was talking about this this dynamic of uh not just work, but one particular uh company had it set aside that there had to be some downtime for their employees, um kind of kind of like play therapy in a sense, that once they uh are released from the work environment or while even on the job, that there's playtime therapy. And so I I see the workforce in education in in the same sense is that we're trying to build and create um something, but we can't leave out the the the in-between of of just the human factor, well, you know, whatever that whatever that is. And I think that sometimes we overlook that, yeah, we are not robots, we're actually flesh and blood. And so we have you know the ability to to to think to be creative in our thought processes, but then we also have to be restored and kind of rebooted in the sense somewhat like a computer, even though we're not a computer.

SPEAKER_00 57:45

Well, and and you you think back to kind of the way jobs used to be, and I'm sure there still are some where like you'd get to work at a certain time, but you had breaks, yeah, and then you had your lunch period that you'd go do stuff, and then you'd go back to work in the afternoon, and then you'd have breaks, you know, and then and then now you see some employers who are creating flex time. And like me, with people who I work with, I'm like, I expect these things to get done, and basically we're all gonna work about this many hours a week, but it's going to be flexible because I think that your family needs to come first. And if you have something with your kids that you need to go to, you should go do it. I still need you to get your work done, right? And and I live by that same philosophy in my own work life, right? Some days I'm here early, early in the morning because I've got things in the evening I need to do with my family. And other days I take a little bit of time in the morning and I stay here and work late, right? And it just I get to kind of adjust my schedule. And um that's worked really well in our environment here, but everybody has to do what works best for them. And some people are very motivated and can do that, right? Self-starters, people, type A personalities, and some people need more structure. And that's something that we should also identify when we're looking at what how or what type of work is going to be best for you.

SPEAKER_01 59:15

Yeah, I'm glad you said that because NAS speaks to the whole human and not just let me get you career ready, let me get you work ready. Uh, but they're I'm more than just that employee or employee, you know, I'm more than just that skilled laborer, I'm that whole person.

SPEAKER_00 59:30

The whole person. I mean, it absolutely has to be the whole person. And for me, like at the very base of it, I believe that if we can get kids when when I talk about like what I'm looking at in in high school where I want there to possibly multi be multiple tracks, um it's because I believe that everybody was put here for a purpose. As long as we're still walking the earth, there's still a purpose for us to fulfill. And that I think if we can line up what's innate in them with careers, I think they might be happier and they might get closer to finding their purpose. You know? But right now we're just sending kids out there and they're just taking random shots in the dark, like, oh, I've seen this, I think I'll try that, right? And there may be something they've never been exposed to that is the thing that they would be fabulous at and would love.

unknown 1:00:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:25

Right? And that's why I want to connect those things.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:28

And I hope I didn't overlook what you said earlier about the the notion of entrepreneurship, because I I I want I wonder what is the line between entrepreneurship, taking basically taking a blank sheet of paper and creating something out of it. That fine line between I'm just going to wait and see what happens. Entrepreneurship, I think, is unleashing maybe the creative energy, um, the thought processes that that you have to either build or create something. But then doing it in a sense to where it's either a product or service or some type of um some type of ability to meet the need of something or someone. And I think that thinking in that way, having uh a pathway towards entrepreneurship, I think is also as vital to the work uh to the workforce as anything else. You know, because two things can happen. One, you can have uh a business owner or or an entrepreneur that goes into business ownership, you can also have an entrepreneurial mind that is actually working for an organization that if you can take creating new products. Exactly, yeah. And I think that that is also key to the education dynamic.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:44

Absolutely. I mean, because there are people who very much want to be their own boss. And unfortunately, more people think they want to be a boss than actually really want to be a boss because it's a lot of work. I think people think I'm gonna be the boss and I'm never gonna have to work in. I'm like, no, it's more work. Yeah, or our husbands. Um my husband says I'm the boss. I'm like, uh-huh. Right, whatever. I th I think I think we both wear the hat, it's just on different different topics. Um, but um no, I think I think that some people are really innately geared toward being the person who creates the company and does the thing. And then I think there are other people who maybe want more stability or whatever, or don't want to have to be the one thinking of all the new things all the time and want to be a specialist at one particular thing that maybe really should help someone else grow a business, right? And so, but I think there's absolutely need for both.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

Yeah, I I fullheartedly believe that. In fact, you kind of kind of see some of the if you look closely at your own kiddos or or those that are close to you, you kind of see some of the interesting dynamics of entrepreneurial thinking, you know, and I look as I look at my three kiddos, they all think differently. But they think with a creative mindset that that makes them the whole person that they are, so that when they do go into whatever career path that they have, at least they would have had a creative mind to either lead a project, own a project, or be a participant in in a company or organization that that have products.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:27

And I think we have just come full circle because I believe we started pretty early on to we need to be starting to develop these skills in kids when they're little. Yes. And I tell people new parents all the time, they're like, What do you suggest? Like, what do I do about school? And I'm like, well, honestly, I'm not schooled, I'm not sure that there's any school, public, private, or other, that is doing the best job for their kids. And I think that I think they're trying, and the teachers are great and they want to do good for the kids. Don't get me wrong. I think the system has some deficiencies. Um, but I think that it is incumbent upon the parents to be getting teaching your kids to ask questions, teaching your kids to think um in a very uh entrepreneurial way, creative way, right? Ask them why they did something. Ask them if there's another way they could have done it. Ask them if um how did that make you feel? What did your friend feel? What do you think your friend was thinking, right? We're building emotional intelligence, we're building critical thinking, we're building problem-solving skills. Like we need as parents, we need to be doing that from a very, very early age. And then work hand in hand with the education system to help our kids have the best possible outcomes.

unknown 1:04:48

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:48

Amen. So, okay, before we leave today, I know it's time to wrap up, and I hope that you'll come back and visit with us some more. I think there's lots of other things we can explore. Um, would you uh one, is there anything else you want to say to the viewers today? Anything we missed?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:05

I'm not sure. Uh, we've covered pretty good ground, I think. Um, and it's been fun doing it. I um I you know what is humbling, I think, about uh what it is that we get to do on a on a on a daily basis is that if we're able at all to deposit seeds into the life of someone else, and the problem with that is you don't know that you're doing it in many instances. But if we're by chance, grace to deposit seeds into the life of someone else, and those seeds in turn produce other fruit-bearing seeds, what I really get a kick out of is seeing the story behind the story. Like you have no idea sometimes of what you've said or what you've done. And I think that with what we've been given to do, this this notion of providing uh workforce resources, it's affecting real lives, it's affecting real people, and there is something about helping mankind, being a human agent that I think is a reward that's beyond, you know, words. And so if there was anything that I could add to the conversation is is that we all have that responsibility or wherever we are, and my particular role, I guess I have the responsibility of exposing, I guess, the resources that we have to uh those that are in our community. And so if they are needing a skill, if they're needing a life-changing instrument, a tool, be that education, be that um uh a skill, then we are here, certification, we are here to to help with that. And what I would really like is to know the rest of the story. Come back and tell us the rest of the story. What happened? Did it did it add value to your family? Did it create a corridor for your your kiddo to advance on their their career or their education? Uh so I'm hoping that, you know, as agents we're depositing seeds, but then also as those that have received the seeds, if they would come back, tell the story and uh and share that with others.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:15

I think that um, you know, I've been very blessed in my life, you have as well, and I think that it is truly every one of our responsibility to reach down and pull somebody else up. Absolutely. Right. So would you just take a minute and tell the audience how they can get in touch with you, how they can get in touch with your organization, and when when whether it's someone who's needing to be trained for or needing a new job or a business owner who's needing some some training for some employees?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:44

Absolutely. So we are Workforce Solutions. Uh Workforce Solutions is located at 1500 Broadway. At least that's the board office. We've mentioned earlier that there are 15 different, 15, five different career centers that um the individuals can go to. So you can find us on the works on the website, workforce.org, workforce southplains.org, and information is can be provided there, and they can certainly reach out to us. There would be several contact uh numbers and names that they can associate us with and just reach out to us.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:16

It's a it's a really great website. I was on it today exploring, and there are phone numbers there where you can call as well as find lots of information. So well, Dr. Alexander, thank you so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:28

Thank you for this invitation. This is actually fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:32

Well, good, I'm glad. And I hope viewers enjoy it as well. And I hope that you'll come back next week when we explore more options in transforming our K through 12 education system. We'll see you then.