Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson appointed Lynn McBee on Monday to help boost upskilling efforts and help implement the recommendations put forward by the mayor’s workforce development report.
The report was released last November and titled “Upskilling Dallas: How to Modernize the City’s Workforce for the Jobs of Tomorrow.”
According to the report findings, the city needs to create more initiatives and resources for training and education programs for working-age adults.
During a Monday press conference, Johnson and McBee revealed that coordinating and promoting workforce development programs will be essential to Dallas’ longstanding effort to grow its southern parts by taking a people-focused approach to economic development, according to Mayor Johnson and McBee.
Johnson added that workforce development is the “least discussed issue of our time” even though it is vital.
“But now, it is time for us to make upskilling a top priority in Dallas and come together to build the workforce of the future,” Johnson said during the press conference, “one that will attract and grow businesses, build equity, and sustain our city’s outstanding economic growth for years to come.”
Johnson described McBee as the ideal fit for the position while polluting out her experience in education leadership, homeless solutions advocacy, and her various volunteer and civic work all around the city.
McBee, the CEO of Young Women’s Preparatory Network, said she was excited to work with Johnson on the issue (workforce development) she described as very important to the city.
“Workforce development will not only lift families and communities and create more opportunity and growth, but it also addresses equity,” McBee said, per CBS 11 News.
She added that workforce development is a step forward in eliminating racial barriers and is very important in the fight against systemic cycles of poverty.
According to CBS 11 News, McBee has worked as a research scientist for decades. She is also serving as Co-Chair of the Board of For Oak Cliff and a trustee for the Dallas College Foundation.
In her new role as workforce czar, McBee will be tasked with building and executing strategies to implement the recommendations made by the workforce development report.
McBee will also work to refine and implement programs targeted at helping working-age adults get good jobs.
McBee will work closely with the Mayor’s Office to disseminate information regarding workforce training opportunities to the appropriate audience and track progress made by the workforce development.
