There are thousands of Eagle Ford job openings across South Texas. The only obstacle is that the industry needs skilled and unskilled labor. Skilled labor means we need training and educational programs or we'll have to hire people from other parts of the country. Structural unemployment is an obstacle to coming out of the recession and we're no different in Texas. The San Antonio Manufacturers Association held a meeting on December 14, 2011 to address hiring needs in the area. The association is setting out to identify workforce needs for manufacturers. They hope to help develop programs to educate individuals to fill vacant manufacturing positions that are growing in number due to the Eagle Ford.

SAMA wants to provide the information from the Dec. 14 meeting to Workforce Solutions Alamo and Alamo Colleges so they can direct workers to possible training programs.

Creating training programs for newly needed skills takes time. Chavez said the National Association of Manufacturers is talking increasingly about the need for employers to train people on the job instead of waiting for skilled workers to apply.

Something has to happen. The economic recovery depends on it.

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