Welcome From the Chancellor

Dear Industry Partner,

While emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics are reshaping industries, the nation is also facing a workforce shortage of nearly three million workers. At the same time, Texas continues to experience strong job growth, with hundreds of thousands of new roles projected across high-demand sectors.

At Dallas College, we believe the workforce is the classroom. Education can no longer be confined to four walls. Instead, learning must be embedded directly into work through applied projects, apprenticeships, internships, and employer partnerships that allow students to earn credentials while building experience and professional networks. This learner-first approach ensures students do not simply prepare for work but actively participate in it as part of their education.

This philosophy is reflected in our engagement with EDGE North Texas, a regional, industry-led collaboration using the Next Generation Sector Partnerships model. Through EDGE North Texas, employers, educators, workforce organizations, and public partners work together to align education and training with real, employer-identified workforce needs across priority sectors including construction, healthcare, business and finance manufacturing, arts and entertainment, aerospace and aviation, information technology, and freight, mobility, and logistics.

This alignment is strengthened by Dallas College’s Labor Market Intelligence Center (LMIC), which uses real-time regional workforce data to guide program development and institutional strategy. Leveraging sources such as Lightcast and Census LODES, our LMIC helps identify high-growth sectors, in-demand occupations, and the skills employers need most. These insights ensure our programs lead to credentials of value, support strong wage and employment outcomes for students, and keep Dallas College responsive to the evolving North Texas economy.

At the same time, we are redesigning our systems around the realities of today’s learners, particularly working adults. Across the country, more than forty-three million Americans have some college experience but no credential, limiting economic mobility for individuals and constraining workforce growth for employers.

Dallas College is addressing this challenge by rebuilding an adult learner ecosystem that reduces barriers and supports completion. This includes embedded work-based learning, textbooks included in tuition, free public transit passes, food pantries and clothing closets, childcare partnerships, and strong alignment between credentials and high-wage, high-demand careers. When education is designed around how learners actually live and work, outcomes improve for students and employers alike.

As one of the largest community colleges in the country, Dallas College serves at the intersection of education and industry. Through partnerships with employers like you, we can ensure education remains relevant, responsive, and aligned with real workforce needs.

In Dallas County alone, three out of four people do not earn a living wage of at least $50,000. Dallas College students are not immune from this reality, with 77% identified as economically disadvantaged. Your partnership can drastically improve our students’ lives.

Together, we can build talent pipelines that reflect today’s workforce realities, expand access to meaningful work-based learning, and support a seamless transition from classroom to career.

We look forward to working with you soon. 

Best,

Dr. Justin H. Lonon

Chancellor, Dallas College