BY COLBY FARR & HANNAH JOHNSON
Zooming in
The local impact
The EDC board of directors gave Clark the go-ahead to continue with development of the workforce plan during the meeting. The EDC is first looking to work with a third party to gather data and study the workforce in the area. Through that study, officials hope to track occupations, strengths and weaknesses of the local workforce, Clark said. “Ultimately we want to help provide some of this data to our educators and our school systems to help address workforce needs and support those existing employers within the city,” she said. EDC officials have tracked some of these things internally, but they’re looking for a third party to research and validate the data. “What’s also tough about workforce and labor data is that most often times it’s at the county level and it’s been harder for us to access granular level data to McKinney specifically,” said Economic Development Specialist Miranda Estrada.
The McKinney Economic Development Cor- poration is working on a new plan to encourage workforce development in the area. The plan does not represent a starting point though, according to officials. “A lot of the work that we’re doing for workforce development is already in place,” said Madison Clark, director of business retention and workforce development for the EDC. “It just hasn’t been formalized in a lot of ways.” That’s what the EDC’s G.R.O.W. plan sets out to accomplish. Clark previewed the plan during a board meeting held in June. The plan’s name is an acronym that stands for four objectives: • Grow local employment • Reinforce skills development • Open career pathways • Widen workforce development
Workforce development is “extremely important” to retaining McKinney compa- nies, said Lisa Hermes, president and CEO of the McKinney Chamber of Commerce. “The workforce has to be constantly trained and upskilled and reskilled,” Hermes said. “Collin College plays a huge role in making sure that they have the type of training available.”
McKinney at a glance
202,314 total population 71.4% labor force participation rate $120,273 median household income
SOURCE: MCKINNEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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well as support spaces into health sciences labs and classrooms. Additional space was converted into three new lab spaces and two additional classrooms, Matkin said. The $71.8 million Frisco health sciences center, which is set to open in January 2027, will help with expanding programs already offered at Collin College and will house in-development programs such as Radiologic Technology and Cardiovascular Technology, he said.
Along with continuing education for employees, Collin College is working to establish and expand programs for local industries—specifically health care. A $2 million grant was awarded last year by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration and allowed the college to expand its Plano campus to construct health care instruction facilities. The project converted nine existing classrooms as
“It is no secret that our growing population fuels the need for ... employees and business leaders who can ensure the success of the region.” NEIL MATKIN, COLLIN COLLEGE DISTRICT PRESIDENT
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MCKINNEY EDITION
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