Lone Star College Joins Nationwide Upskilling Initiative to Close Houston's Tech Talent Gaps

Pioneering Texas community college partners with SkillStorm for unique workforce development effort; welcomes industry partners to join tuition reimbursement scholarship initiative.

HOUSTON, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lone Star College announced a new partnership designed to build stronger pipelines of talent in support of the greater Houston region's fast-growing tech industry. The initiative, delivered as part of Lone Star's Continuing Education offerings and developed in collaboration with industry partners including tech talent accelerator SkillStorm, will provide Texan employers with increased access to new talent pools and a means to close skills gaps within their current workforce. Through Lone Star, employers throughout the Houston area can use tuition reimbursement dollars to upskill their incumbent workforce through courses that lead to industry-recognized credentials from major tech employers including Salesforce, CompTIA, and AWS.

SkillStorm is also seeking industry partners in the metro Houston area to join UpSkill Together, its unique initiative that brings together universities and employers to expand access to tech training for individuals from historically underrepresented groups in the tech industry, including people of color, women, and veterans, as well as military spouses and dependents. For every course participant, UpSkill Together will issue a one-to-one match scholarship for the same training at no cost to a learner from an underrepresented background.

"Lone Star College has a track record of accelerating economic mobility for Texans through cost-effective, accessible certification and credentialing programs that align with the current demands of businesses in the region," said Joe Mitchell, COO at SkillStorm. "This is about helping employers across the Houston area not just upskill today's workforce — but also build a future-proof, resilient pipeline of skilled talent ready for the jobs of tomorrow."

Lone Star College, located in the metro Houston area, is at the center of surging tech growth in the state of Texas. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Houston area is expected to gain over 16,000 tech industry jobs over the next decade. CompTIA's 2022 State of the Tech Workforce report indicates rising demand for talent with expertise in IT, cybersecurity, and software development from major Houston-based tech employers. 

In collaboration with SkillStorm, Lone Star will offer a range of courses to prepare for certifications including AWS Cloud, Computer Programming, Coding, CompTIA Security+ and Salesforce Developer. These certifications will enable employers to keep up with the accelerating pace of technological change by providing training in high-demand tech skills to their existing workforce, while also helping job-seekers and early-career workers become more qualified candidates for high-demand tech careers. For more information, please visit: https://www.lonestar.edu/itprofessional/   

About SkillStorm
SkillStorm is bringing together Fortune 500 employers, universities, and government agencies to build tomorrow's highly skilled tech workforce. Through partnerships with platforms like Pega, Salesforce, and ServiceNow, we help working learners and aspiring tech experts build in-demand skills and earn industry-recognized certifications to compete in an increasingly dynamic economy. Our work is rooted in the belief that closing skill gaps and boosting economic mobility are two sides of the same coin, and that new approaches to training can help to both expand the pool of skilled tech talent and create new pathways to opportunity.

About Lone Star College
Lone Star College enrolls over 80,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSC is training tomorrow's workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2022 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and recognized by Fortune Magazine and Great Place To Work® as one of this year's Best Workplaces in Texas™. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.

SOURCE SkillStorm