Borderplex study shows low education level hindering job growth

A recent Borderplex Alliance study shows the main economic challenge for the El Paso area is low education levels. Borderplex Alliance CEO Rolando Pablos presented the study to City Council on Tuesday.

“If you look at the root cause of an area’s impoverishment, it goes to education and the lack there of. And so what we need to do is we need to make sure that we work with our school districts from throughout the region – our colleges and universities to make sure that we develop a well trained and educated workforce,” said Pablos in an interview after the presentation.

The report listed several strengths and weaknesses in the El Paso area. Some of the strengths outlined in the report include geography, low freight costs, a large, young labor force, strong hospitals and medical school and tax incentives.

Some of the listed weaknesses are not enough industries or career paths, inadequate infrastructure at the international ports of entry, perception of violence, lack of regional lobbying and not enough collaboration between governments.

The main hinderance from bringing high-paying jobs is education. The study found that 1 in 6 people over 25 in the region have no formal education above the ninth grade and one in four people over 25 don’t have a high school diploma.

“The biggest incentive is for companies is to know that they will have a skilled workforce – a talent pipeline moving forward. And so if they’re going to make a decision to move to our region, they need to know we have a qualified workforce.”

Borderplex paid for the study which suggests the city try to bring businesses in 6 specific industries to El Paso. They are Defense and Aerospace, Life Sciences, tourism, advanced manufacturing, advanced logistics and business support services.

The city now wants to work on strategies based on the report’s findings.