Our People Are the Greatest Assets We Have

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As published in the Las Cruces Bulletin – March 20, 2020

by Tracey Bryan

When we developed the website, NewMexicoTrueTalent.org, it was an intentional strategy to build awareness of the incredible opportunities that our community has to offer to the greatest assets we have…our people.

We wanted our people to know what’s possible, what’s real, and what’s available to them to make the connections (and map out the pathway) from education to employment right here in our county. 

We know that academic outcomes (high school AND college completion of career certifications, two-year degrees, four-year degrees and higher) + hands-on, work-based learning = readiness for well-paid careers in industries driving our economy forward.

Encouraging our talent (our people) to envision the amazing prospects for their futures here and becoming active contributors to the economy will boost prosperity of the region across all sectors – public and private. Well-skilled, well-aligned pools of workforce talent support a strong and thriving business community, simultaneously boosting the tax base and economic contributions to everything from stores and restaurants to banks and non-profits.

Equally important is setting the stage for reduced reliance on social assistance programs that can have the unintended consequences of “cliff effects.” The cliff effect dynamic hinders individuals from taking promotions or increased wages, because those increases in earnings may exceed asset limits of support programs. Losing those benefits can reduce the funds a family may be relying upon to making ends meet, like childcare assistance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Medicaid.

The recently published 2019 New Mexico Kids Count Data Book provided an up-to-date snapshot on where we are as a county, and the solutions we should be pursuing to improve life outcomes for children and families. This year, it did show a slight reduction of those in poverty statewide, but our county is still higher than the state and national average: 

  • 38% of our county’s children are living at or below the federal poverty level 
  • 36% of our children are growing up in single-parent homes, which also impacts their economic stability and future reliance on social assistance programs to make ends meet
  • 20% of our families have heads of the household who lack a high school diploma
  • 9% of our youth (16-19 years of age) are not in school nor working, which hinders their economic progress, placing them at risk of having the same cliff effects impacting their futures and future families.

Across the report there are a slew of solutions to these challenges. Relative to these statistics, some of those solutions include:

  • Develop a state youth employment strategy using a career pathways approach mapped to industry needs, which includes business, nonprofits, government, school districts, and colleges (Does this sound exactly like The Bridge of Southern New Mexico and Workforce Talent Collaborative?)
  • Expanded access to adult education, college education (including career certifications and two-year degrees), and job training through career pathways
  • Providing dual credit options for students to ready them for college and career
  • Lower the cost of college through programs like the Lottery Scholarship, College Affordability Act, and new Opportunity Scholarship
  • Two-generation strategies that educationally and economically lift parents and their children simultaneously

The social and economic imperative for our children and families, and therefore, our county, remains the same. Yes, change takes time, but we must act with urgency and intention. 

We have to reach those who may not know the opportunities available to them. We have to fight negative, deficit-based narratives that suppress hope and keep people from accessing all that is available to them. Information is power! Do they know ALL of the opportunities that Doña Ana County has to offer? Do the academic and workforce systems that are intended to serve our talent work in collaboration and intentionality to equip them with the resources they need to be successful?

We can build awareness of opportunity. Awareness will ignite desire to take advantage of all that is here to change their lives and futures. We can equip them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successful in education and employment. We can keep them from leaving to pursue perceived or real opportunity that lies elsewhere and stem the “brain drain” that has hollowed out New Mexico’s talent pipelines.

Check out NewMexicoTrueTalent.org. Learn more about the wealth of opportunity right here in our community. Then, you can become an amazing ambassador of all the opportunity our community has to offer!