Construction and development became possible thanks to the financial support of the Economic Development Administration and Harris County Community Services Department.
We are excited about beginning the construction of a new Workforce Training Center; the 20,000-square-foot center will provide critical space for hands-on training for individuals in need of opportunity! While the demand for workers with middle-skills across the Greater Houston region is steep, nearly one million Houstonians lack the qualifications to fill these positions. This shortage of skilled workers plays a substantial role in both the city’s unemployment rates and in the continuing cycle of poverty for many families.
The Workforce Training Center will give students the training and experience they need to be attractive candidates for these positions and be competitive in the job market in the long term. Constructed 1000 feet behind SER’s Workforce Opportunity Center in Houston’s historic East End, the center will include eight classrooms, three training labs, office space, and necessary training equipment to help students meet their goals and gain the skills and credentials needed to succeed in today’s workforce. Through this expansion, SERJobs will be able to equip and empower over 8,000 people by 2022 through education, training, employment placement, and financial literacy education.
“At SER, we believe in connecting people with the power and purpose of work, and the Workforce Training Center will enhance our capacity to do just that,” says Sheroo Mukhtiar, Executive Director and CEO of SERJobs. “This training center, much like our Workforce Opportunity Center, will be much more than another beautiful building,” Mukhtiar continued. “It will bring about transformational change for the individuals, families, and communities that we serve.”
SERJobs is a nonprofit community organization that supports, educates, and equips people in the Texas Gulf Coast Region who come from low-income backgrounds or who have significant barriers to employment. We believe the power and purpose of work can transform lives and communities. SER is the Spanish verb, “to be,” so that is exactly what we impart on the people we serve – that they can be whatever they want “to be.”