In all business sectors in the United States, it has become harder to keep and retain skilled talent. It is no surprise that workforce is a common concern for equipment manufacturers throughout the country, as finding skilled workers has become an expensive and time-consuming process for equipment manufacturers.
The 2025 legislative session in the Lone Star State has seen a flurry of introduced legislation aimed at addressing skills training and providing a skilled trade workforce for the state’s manufacturers. Considering Texas is the largest state for equipment manufacturing, the following legislation will be closely watched and supported by the AEM State Affairs Team.
House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR 5)
HJR 5 proposes a constitutional amendment to create funds supporting the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System, modernizing and expanding this system. If successful, the future benefits of this investment would help keep Texas as a major hub for US manufacturing, and give those manufacturers located in Texas a great pool of skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen to hire from.
The bill establishes the "permanent technical institution infrastructure fund" and the "available workforce education fund" as special funds in the state treasury, outside the general revenue fund. These funds are intended to provide a dedicated source of funding for capital projects and equipment purchases related to educational programs. Additionally, the bill appropriates $850 million from the general revenue fund to the comptroller of public accounts for deposit into the permanent fund, with this provision expiring on December 31, 2026. The bill also outlines the management and investment of the permanent fund by the comptroller. The proposed amendment will be submitted to voters in an election scheduled for November 4, 2025.
House Bill 20 (HB 20)
HB 20 establishes the Applied Sciences Pathways Program, to be administered by the Commissioner on Higher Education. The program would provide opportunities for students to concurrently earn high school diplomas and certificates from institutions of higher education in industries such as plumbing and pipe fitting, electrical, welding, sheet metal, diesel and heavy equipment. Students will be able to use these certificate programs to obtain credits toward a high school diploma. HB 20 will help bridge a gap between Texas high schools and institutes of higher education for skilled workforce training in critical trades for the equipment manufacturing industry.
Equipment manufacturers have expressed concerns that it is critical to start skills training in high school or before. HB 20 looks to assist in moving higher education skills training from post-high school, directly into the current high school curriculum for those students who wish to seek a skilled trade.
The Texas State legislative session traditionally runs until May of the session year. Your AEM State Affairs team is on the ground in Austin advocating for pro-equipment manufacturing policies during the 2025 session.
To learn more about workforce issues in other states or to get involved in AEM’s advocacy efforts, please reach out to the AEM Advocacy Team.
