Kelly Moreno on Workforce Help Employers Overlook | Rock Solid

Bryan: Welcome to Rock Solid, the Round Rock Business Leaders podcast. Join your host, Brian Eisenberg, as he explores the journeys of entrepreneurs and companies across Round Rock, Texas. From startups and nonprofits to large organizations, each guest shares their passion for doing business in this thriving community. Let’s dive in.

Bryan: Hi everybody, it’s Brian Eisenberg and welcome to Rock Solid. This week I am joined by Kelly Moreno from Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area.

Kelly: Correct.

Bryan: How’d they come up with that name? First of all, as a marketing person, how’d they come up with that name?

Kelly: I was part of that. No. What happened is we used to be just one big workforce center which included Travis County. And about almost 40 years ago now, we split with them and spread out so that all the money wasn’t being sucked up by Travis County as the nine counties grow. So we have the nine counties surrounding Travis. That’s how we became Rural Capital.

Bryan: Fair. Now at least I understand the thinking behind it. It is a mouthful.

Kelly: It’s a mouthful and the acronym does not flow. I am very much aware of that. But we just call ourselves Roll Cap and that works.

Bryan: So I know you because we both sit on the executive committee for the Round Rock Chamber. I’m mostly curious, because you do work with a lot of different counties, how does your role contributing to the Round Rock Chamber affect what you do day-to-day at Workforce Solutions?

Kelly: With Williamson County being our largest of the nine counties, Wilco tends to lead the way. Not that we don’t have a ton of growth going across all of central Texas, which is an exciting time to be here. What I get to hear from our communities out is what’s going on, and I can take that back to the chamber and say I’m hearing X, Y, or Z is happening in these counties. How can we get in that same sandbox and work together to build this community larger? Because as that corridor is developing all the way to San Antonio, we are going to be the new metroplex. It’s coming whether we like it or not. So it behooves us all to get together and work together to upsize everybody.

Bryan: What’s an example of a situation where you’ve brought everybody together to do something like that?

Kelly: One of the things we’re hearing from our employers is that as we’re going more into manufacturing, which is not typical in this region, more manufacturers are coming in thanks to Samsung and Tesla. We got a lot of attention and we needed to shift on how we handle that, because our school systems and community colleges weren’t built for it. One thing employers told us was: we don’t have maintenance techs to maintain our machines. When their lines go down, that’s a lot of money. So we created an apprenticeship model with the partners at Texas State Technical College and we’re graduating our first cohort in a couple of months. These individuals are already employed by their employers and going through the training to become the maintenance techs to keep these lines working. We’re also working with TSTC to bring that out to the new Bronos campus so it spreads out across the entire corridor. We already have the curriculum. Let’s spread it out.

Bryan: You’re wearing multiple hats because you’re the Chief Solutions Officer, which I love that title, and you head up the workforce talent council.

Kelly: Yes. Working with Zach on the chamber, we are developing programming to work in our middle schools to educate them on different careers. We’ve created a whole series of booklets on the five top industries we’ve targeted in this region. These are tools that students and parents can research to see what a job pays in three years, how you get the training, and what it requires. It gives them education to make a better decision on what they’re going to do after high school, because we know 60% of our graduating seniors do not have a four-year plan. And four-year plan does not mean college. It just means: what are you going to do in June?

Bryan: What’s the biggest challenge you see today? When I was working with Google, a client used to say working at Google was like working on quicksand, like everything was shifting under your feet. That feels like maybe worse than quicksand in the work environment today with AI and everything changing. What’s the big concern on both the employer side and the future employee side?

Kelly: For the employer side, it’s getting the talent they need right now. Business works at the speed of light. We can’t wait two years for an engineer. We have to figure out shorter training programs so people can get on the floor right then, and then build pathways as they grow. From the job seeker side, I think it’s lack of knowledge of what’s available. Our industries are changing here in central Texas and a lot of us growing up here never thought of manufacturing. Are they pulling hot steel down a line and we’re all going to burn? But it’s completely different now. You’re in a clean room, a safe environment, and the opportunities go from production tech all the way up to lead engineer. So educating the parents, because parents are the first influencers our kids have. And if you go into an electrical or plumbing apprenticeship, five years and you’re over six figures with no debt. And you can have your own firm, and then the sky’s the limit. We want to teach people that these opportunities are wonderful. There’s no stigma about being X, Y, or Z. I know I want my HVAC to work every summer.

Bryan: What kind of challenges do you see in communities that don’t collaborate as well?

Kelly: We actually had the opportunity to present last week at a national convention for workforce, showing how our groups can work together across different board levels and different counties. What I see is people wanting to hold on to their stakeholders. This is our mission and you can’t come across. I’m like, well, maybe we do this better than you, or you do that better than I do. So take that and let’s build around it and make this work together. It’s being open to those conversations and being willing to put your ego outside the door.

Bryan: You come from a corporate marketing background where I’m sure you’ve dealt with big egos. What I’m mostly curious about is: you know, my daughter is well into her career, my middle one is about to become a store manager, my youngest is still in high school trying to figure out what he wants to do, and the earth is shifting under him literally day by day. If you’re a parent today, from a learning perspective, what things are you saying are never going to go out of style?

Kelly: In Texas we have a middle skills gap, which is mostly trades and production line. If you can do something with your hands, most of the time there’s not something a robot can do. There are some things robots can do, but there’s a lot robots can’t do yet. So we always push: learn how to do something. Get a certificate program. If you want your engineering degree, fine, but get a certification in something as well. And we’re starting to see universities adding those certifications because they realize engineers needed to solder something but had never been taught. So those are being added in. And our high schools have a ton of certifications going through. Dual credit is also something I pushed for with my own kids. Instead of having to pass an AP test with a three or above, I knew I’d guarantee a school credit with dual credit work.

Bryan: I want to come back to that title Chief Solutions Officer. You’ve rolled out some great solutions, including the teacher externship program. Tell us about that and how business owners listening could take advantage of it.

Kelly: This program has been going for a long time. Round Rock ISD was one of the first, around 2014. It’s an opportunity for teachers to go in and shadow businesses in the areas they’re teaching. We try to focus on CTE teachers and counselors so they can provide better guidance. Teachers tell us what they want to see, we work with the chamber’s Zach Scott who makes the connection, and we handle the grant paperwork and funding. Any business that’s interested: get with Zach Scott at the chamber and he can help set it up.

Bryan: And there are other internships available for companies?

Kelly: Yes, through the Texas Workforce Commission. They have a program where, for college students specifically, TWWC will pay half the salary. It can be a summer intern or any time of year, with a minimum of about three months. Then there’s also Vocational Rehabilitation, which is a section of TWWC for individuals with disabilities. They will provide the internships and pay for everything, including all accommodations. I’m actually getting ready to start interviewing for one for our own marketing department. For a business like Bill’s who runs social media services, if he wanted to train someone, he would contact us, we connect him to the right person, and we watch the process and help with any paperwork.

Bryan: For the Vocational Rehab placements, if someone needs a ramp or special equipment?

Kelly: They cover it all. That’s even if you hire someone permanently afterward. TWWC covers all of that. Computer screens, anything special, they’ll take care of it for you.

Bryan: What’s the one thing you see day-to-day that most people get wrong and keep doing?

Kelly: Most people think Workforce Solutions is the unemployment office. We are completely separate. Unemployment is handled solely at TWWC. We handle bringing in employees for employers, helping them find talent, and upskilling their current employees. Our first customer is the employer. Texas is different than a lot of other states in how they run workforce, in that we put employers first because they drive the demand. I can’t tell an employer I’ve got X when they need Y. We listen to our employers and match accordingly. And if they need to upskill current staff, we have funds available through TWWC to do that and we’ll help write the grants.

Bryan: Can you give an example of someone who came to you to upskill?

Kelly: We just had one here in Round Rock. I can’t say their name, but it’s in the semiconductor field, which is a governor’s priority. We did a Skills Development Fund and raised $145,000 to upskill 66 employees. That’s very meaningful for them and the staff appreciates it too, because they know the company values them. Retention numbers go up when that happens. And if you’re an employer struggling with retention, let us come work with you. We have business consultants who will sit down with you, do a strategic plan, and figure out what’s going on at no cost.

Bryan: My wife and I own a home care agency, which traditionally has a horrible turnover rate, around 80%. Would you sit with us and help figure out retention?

Kelly: Absolutely. We’d sit down and say, this is what we’ve seen in similar industries. Maybe it’s an extra day off, whatever little tweaks make sense. And this is all at no cost to the employer. All they have to do is get in touch with us.

Bryan: If there’s one thing you could tell employers about being prepared for what’s coming in the workforce, what would it be?

Kelly: Look at your job descriptions. Do you really need that bachelor’s degree? What are the skill sets you’re requiring and what is the job? Are they matching up? If they’re not, let’s see why. Is it just inherited? We all get a little behind and can’t go rewrite a job description. Put it through ChatGPT or Claude and say this is the job they have to do, write me the skills. That’s one thing. Another is, if you’re interested in working with workforce, designate someone who is assigned just to work with workforce. Be our champion in the company. Companies that have been most successful getting money through TWWC are the ones that have a champion, and it’s usually an HR person, but it doesn’t have to be.

Bryan: If you had to put your corporate marketing hat on and market new positions rolling out in the next 10 years, how would you position those?

Kelly: Write job descriptions for people who will be adaptable to new technology. And our Gen Zers, I have to say, do a fabulous job of that. I know they get a lot of bad press, but every one I’ve worked with is a rock star. They see so much potential and they are willing to change and willing to question things. As older adults in leadership roles, we need to be open to those suggestions. They’re the ones who are going to move companies to the next level, or you’re going to be left behind.

Bryan: For employees either getting ready to jump into or already in the workforce, what do you want them to take away about what job security looks like for the future?

Kelly: People are jumping jobs quite frequently now, and that’s expensive for companies. Retraining costs around $30,000 even at the entry level. For employees: find out what you want to do. We have resources like SkillFinder that let you take a test and see where your natural inclinations are. We also have Texas Reality Check, which lets you figure out how much life actually costs. You put in I want to live in Austin in a three-bedroom house, and it breaks down your internet, your phone, everything. It shows how much you need to make, what careers make that, and what education you need to get there. I was in a school once and a student had this dream life that required $180,000 in salary. It was an eye-opener. You need to be an MD and here’s what that college education costs. Students need to take the time to look at that. And when I connect resources and make that match, that makes my day. So find your natural skill sets, what makes you happy, and keep trying new things.

Bryan: What are your favorite resources here in Round Rock?

Kelly: I’ve been here 24 years. Resources wise, I love going downtown and walking around, checking out our library system. Our library is fantastic. And of course Dell Diamond, Kalahari, they’re always fun. But being able to be out in the community here and how everyone comes together to help, that’s what I love most. Mayor Morgan and the council do a great job of focusing on livable areas. The green spaces are where I enjoy most. And the parent involvement in our ISD is fantastic.

Bryan: Thank you so much for your time today. Really appreciate you educating both future employees and employers on what they can do in the community.

Kelly: Please reach out to us, because we’re here to help.