Texas Workforce Commission Building Construction Trades Evaluation
Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Thomas Boswell, Patty Rodriguez, and Heath Prince (Principal Investigator)
Date: August 2025
Publication Type: Report, 65pp.
INTRODUCTION
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) awarded two rounds of Building Construction Trades (BCT) funds. The first round of funding was distributed in August of 2021, funding five grantees to provide training to Opportunity Youth—young people aged 16 to 24 who were disconnected from the workforce and education systems. The second round of funding was distributed in August 2022, funding six grantees to provide training to individuals 18 years of age and older. This report presents an evaluation of the first round of grantees made to providers serving opportunity youth.
The funded training programs were charged with preparing participants for employment in the BCT target occupations identified to be in high demand by the grantee's local Workforce Development Board (WFB) and are likely to result in self-sufficient wages or a career pathway that leads to self-sufficient earnings. Further, training programs were to be designed to support the attainment of industry-based certifications (IBC). Grant funds were awarded to facilitate the implementation of innovative approaches to improve job training programs, and to scale proven methods that lead to better employment outcomes for workers.
TWC partnered with Ray Marshall Center (RMC), an organized research unit in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas, to evaluate the BCT Grantee programs, including assessing participant workforce outcomes, program impacts, program implementation, and participant and employer feedback on the programs.