As Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s signature workforce development program struggles to place people in better-paying jobs, members of the City Council are growing increasingly critical of the city’s management of the program.
Voters in 2020 approved a one-eighth cent sales tax for the program as a means to address generational poverty in a city where roughly half of residents struggle to meet basic needs, according to a recent city study.
But after many changes to improve the number of people moving through the program, members are now openly pondering whether the city is on the right track to deliver a service they feel residents still critically need.
On Thursday they were asked to approve spending roughly $3 million of Ready to Work’s budget on reimbursements to companies that hire and train workers with new skills or retrain existing workers for higher-paying jobs.
Ready to Work Executive Director Mike Ramsey told members of the council that the move toward employer-based training came after extensive feedback indicated it was needed to ensure that people trained by the program could quickly move into jobs.
Currently 11,600 participants have completed the intake process, while just 6,600 have been enrolled in training, according to the city’s dashboard.
“My understanding of the Ready to Work program, as presented to voters, was to provide that up-skilling through one of our partners, whether it’s Project Quest or the Alamo Community Colleges,” said Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), who referred to Thursday’s proposal as “subsidizing interns.”
“It seems like the program has pivoted,” she added. “These billion-dollar businesses can’t afford to provide those trainings and opportunities for their employees themselves?”
Ramsey said the on-site partnerships were always part of the program’s plan and retraining existing employees would help prevent layoffs.
Offering another perspective, leaders from StandardAreo spoke to the council about how they plan to grow the business in a new direction in the coming year, and the partnerships will help them train employees for those new jobs.
Castillo, one of the council’s most progressive voices, was joined by several other members who lamented the focus on large employers over small ones.
On the other end of the spectrum, some of the council’s pro-business members said that while they were happy to see Ready to Work partner more closely with major employers, the council still needs more oversight of an expensive program with, so far, disappointing results.
“The number one prize is to make sure that people get back to work, and if they work at StandardAreo [or another large employer], that is an empirically good thing,” said Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8).
But Pelaez, who said he’d already been chastised for criticizing the program in a recent committee meeting, added, “Ready to Work is not a sacred cow. … It should be examined. It should be questioned at all opportunities.”
Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), who has a master’s in communication and a doctorate in advertising, said she’s long been calling for Ready to Work, in addition to the on-the-job training, to invest in better marketing to help draw trainees in organically.
“If somebody just goes back and looks at the minutes, you’ll see that I said this three years ago,” Rocha Garcia lamented. “…The residents I represent can’t wait another minute [for the program to succeed].”
Ramsey plans to give the council a more thorough briefing about Ready to Work at a meeting May 1.
Voters can’t be overruled
Pelaez and Rocha Garcia are among a handful of announced or prospective 2025 mayoral candidates on the dais who’ve begun sharpening their criticism of Ready to Work in recent months.
While critics of the program choke on the enormous budget for a program that’s so-far placed 665 people in jobs, it’s unclear how much it might change once Nirenberg is out of office.
Sales tax revenue directed toward the program is expected to generate $240 million, according to Ramsey, and the voter-approved program can’t unilaterally be canceled by a new mayor.
That funding should carry the program through 2029, at which point partner organizations are expected to begin covering the costs of keeping it going.
Members of the council, including Castillo, unanimously approved the new reimbursements for major employers Thursday. Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) was absent from the vote.
In an interview after the meeting Pelaez said even if the city experiences an “economic renaissance” in the coming years, job training in some form will always be a critical need.
Rocha Garcia said she wants the program’s future to include bringing the city’s tourism and hospitality industries into the fold.
Nirenberg, for his part, defended the program passionately in his state of the city speech earlier this week. But after candid feedback at Thursday’s meeting, he struck a more conciliatory tone.
The mayor said he’s heard the council’s concerns in committee meetings and one-on-one conversations, and agrees members should be engaged when major changes are made to the program.
“You’re right, Councilman, there are no sacred cows. We have to be able to face the challenges and interpret the critiques in a way that helps us improve the program,” Nirenberg said to Pelaez.
At the same time, transformational changes like Ready for Work take time and many adjustments to get right, Nirenberg added.
“We’re going to continue to do that, because there is no alternative.”
