Houston petrochem and construction sectors need 20,000 new workers annually

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Gina Luna is chairwoman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Houston.

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Jordan Blum

Reporter- Houston Business Journal

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The Houston region needs about 75,000 new workers annually in the "middle-skills" occupations, and nearly 20,000 of those job needs are in the growing petrochemical and commercial construction sectors.

The data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and the Greater Houston Partnership in their "Houston Skills Gap Report" indicates that a lot more Houstonians need a high school diploma, or equivalent, and some additional community or technical college training — but not a university degree — in order to adequately fill the jobs void.

Chemical companies have committed to spending more than $100 billion in expansion projects from 2010 to 2023, most of which are in southeastern Texas and along the Gulf Coast.

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There currently are 1.4 million middle-skill jobs in Houston, the largest job family in the city's workforce, but many more are needed.

"Like many cities around the world, Houston does not train enough skilled workers to fill jobs that are readily available," said Gina Luna, chairwoman and CEO of middle-market banking in Houston for JPMorgan Chase & Co.

So the GHP and Chase partnership is pushing for more education and community initiatives, aimed both at better training Houston adults and at reaching out to high school students with manufacturing experience and more as part of the overall "UpSkill Houston" effort.

In Houston, more than 855,000 residents ages 25 and older do not have a high school diploma. The report also noted that 47 percent of the area's Hispanic residents – the largest and fastest-growing population – do not have a high school diploma.

Jordan Blum covers energy for the Houston Business Journal. Read the top Texas energy news in our free weekly newsletter, Energy Inc. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Inc. newsletter.