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Career Tracks presents county training needs; BEDC donates surplus equipment
Summary
Smithville Workforce Training Center (Career Tracks) briefed the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation on local labor gaps, training programs and partnerships; the board approved donating surplus office equipment to Career Tracks.
The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation at its meeting heard a presentation from the Smithville Workforce Training Center, doing business as Career Tracks, on local workforce needs and training programs and then approved donating surplus BEDC equipment to the nonprofit.
The presentation, led by Janice Bruno, executive director of Career Tracks, and Alan Butler, Bastrop County coordinator, summarized local labor-market data and Career Tracks’ existing programs and partnerships. "We're not here really to ask you for any money," Bruno said, but she described program successes and gaps. Butler said Career Tracks serves Bastrop, Caldwell, Fayette and Lee counties and works with employers to design training tied to high‑demand occupations.
Bruno and Butler said the organization runs allied‑health training (RN/LVN and allied health certificates), CDL commercial driving (about 60 placed and nearly 100 trained to date), public‑safety courses (EMT, paramedic, firefighter) and IT and finance training. They said Career Tracks has processed about 600 people historically, with roughly 400 currently in the training pipeline and 17 educational providers on contract. Butler highlighted county demographics the group uses to plan programs: a county population near 112,000, a labor force of about 51,437 and roughly 2,115 people counted as unemployed in the county.
Bruno and Butler urged the BEDC to consider supports that help move prime‑working‑age unemployed residents (ages 25–54) into jobs, and to partner on apprenticeships, scholarships and earn‑and‑learn models. Career Tracks said it recently secured additional slots and funding: eight more licensed chemical dependency counselor slots, and approval to train 20 more nurses with up to $10,000 per nurse in support funds. The presenters described work with school CTE programs and with Workforce Solutions Rural CAT on career coaching and outreach.
After the presentation the board considered agenda item 4(c): donating surplus BEDC equipment (computer monitors, stands, a projector, keyboards, cables, a webcam, headphones and related items) to Career Tracks. Dory (BEDC staff) provided a light inventory and said the equipment accumulated over more than a decade of staff turnover. Legal counsel advised the board that donating surplus equipment to a training institution is a common municipal practice when equipment is unnecessary to ongoing operations.
A motion that the BEDC recognize the listed equipment as surplus and donate it to Career Tracks passed by voice vote; the motion carried.
Staff follow‑up: presenters agreed to share the Career Tracks slideshow and supporting Lightcast data reports with BEDC staff. Career Tracks asked the board to consider future non‑monetary supports such as help with legislative advocacy and connections to potential facility partners for a larger training center model.
