Judge Little named chief elected official of Workforce Development Board

Ellis County Judge Todd Little was recently appointed to serve as chief elected official of the North Central Texas Workforce Development Board, a 14-county partnership that oversees the planning, oversight, policy guidance, and design of services in North Texas to promote economic growth, opportunity, and a skilled workforce.

As the board’s chief elected official, Little will have a high degree of influence over its key policy recommendations. The 33-member board is comprised of primarily private business leaders but also includes representatives from economic development entities, chambers of commerce, labor, education, and community organizations. Board appointments are made by member counties’ chief elected officials (county judges).

Serving on the 33-member board as representatives for Ellis County are Jerold Nichols of Amber Electrical Contractors Inc. and Kevin Strength of the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce.

“I am honored and delighted that the Workforce Development Board values the insight I have as an elected official in one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties,” Little said. “Building up a strong workforce is one of the best ways we can ensure long-term economic strength for North Texas.

“We are cultivating talent in career fields with high demand, which will have downstream benefits for our education, healthcare, and infrastructure employment across the metroplex and throughout the DFW region,” he said.

A key policy area Little said he hopes to focus on will be to promote trade programs to partner with high schools, community colleges, and the technical college level. By offering training and certification programs to students, technical career fields will continue to offer lucrative opportunities to many in Ellis County and the region.

“Currently, there is a large surplus of ‘hands-on’ jobs in technical career fields that often get overlooked, but which offer competitive salaries and benefits for employees,” Little said. “Many North Texas employers in these fields are proactively seeking employees yet are still struggling to find a qualified workforce.

“By building a pipeline from our schools to these employers, technical and healthcare careers will continue to be a viable option for students and families,” he said.

Little’s appointment was made at the board’s Feb. 25 meeting.

For more information about the board, visit its website here and its official Facebook page here.