The most educated county in the Greater Houston region, Fort Bend County values education and is developing a robust professional pipeline that will support the jobs of today and tomorrow. Fort Bend’s higher educational institutions including the University of Houston at Sugar Land, Houston Community College Southwest, Wharton County Junior College, and Texas State Technical College, work closely with local industries to develop the necessary human infrastructure and connectivity between education and work. This collaboration supports a growing county with more than 75 percent growth in commercial values since 2010 and ensures the talent pool is robust, trained with industry-specific skills, and ready to work.
Workforce is the building block of the county's economic development. Community and education leadership appreciate the impact that a strong, well-trained workforce has on quality growth. Programmatic efficiency that ties education and training to industry needs results in business expansion and relocation to our community. These companies find a labor pool that cannot only fill existing jobs but is prepared to engage in lifelong learning and upskilling to remain competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
Tom Webb, the Vice President of Products at HCSS, a software development company in Fort Bend County, sites the ability to find quality labor as one of the reasons his company has grown as quickly as they have since HCSS relocated to Fort Bend.
The Fort Bend workforce is not only highly educated, but it is also plentiful and diverse. Our local labor pool is over 400,000 people strong, and the regional labor shed is 3,100,000 people strong. This deep pool is enriched by varying backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences. Dr. Stephen Klineberg of the Kinder Institute at Rice University dubbed Fort Bend as “one of the most diverse counties in the nation”.
Jason Nicholson, General Manager of the Rosenberg Dollar Tree distribution facility, a 191-acre facility with more than 500 employees, said the access to labor was a significant factor in why they chose Fort Bend County for their distribution center.
“Our employees are a critical part of Dollar Tree’s success. It was important we have access to a wide labor pool, and Fort Bend County and the City of Rosenberg supplied that. We have been impressed with the depth and quality of the area workforce."
Cooperation, collaboration, and commitment amongst area stakeholders is the reason that Fort Bend County is able to train and build such a robust workforce. The success story will only continue to expand, as our population is expected to reach 1 million people in the next five years, adding to the richness and uniqueness that is Fort Bend County, Texas. You can live here, work here and succeed here. Fort Bend County is Greater Houston’s Finest Address!