Texas has never been shy about its economic ambitions — and Governor Greg Abbott just made that abundantly clear with the launch of a new advisory body aimed squarely at the state’s growing skilled labor crunch.
On March 16, 2026, Abbott unveiled the Texas Jobs Council, an official advisory board designed to strengthen workforce development across high-demand trades — think electricians, pipe fitters, welders, plumbers, and truck drivers. The announcement came alongside the council’s inaugural meeting, signaling that this isn’t just another blue-ribbon panel collecting dust. There are real deliverables on the table, and a deadline to match.
A State Running Hot — and Running Short on Workers
Abbott didn’t mince words at the launch. “Texas right now is the hottest state in America for business and labor opportunities,” he declared, and the numbers aren’t exactly arguing back. Texas currently ranks number one for new job creation, business expansion, capital investment, exports, technology, and semiconductor development — a sweep that would be remarkable for any state, let alone one still absorbing wave after wave of corporate relocations.
But here’s the tension: all that growth is only sustainable if there are enough skilled workers to actually do the jobs. That’s the gap the council is being asked to close. As Abbott put it, “For us to maintain our dominance, business and labor are working together to meet the high demand for high skilled labor, positions like electricians, pipe fitters, welders, plumbers, truckers, and a whole lot more.” The framing is deliberate: this isn’t charity or social policy. It’s an infrastructure problem for a booming economy.
Who’s at the Table
The council’s membership is worth a closer look, because the composition itself tells a story. It’s co-chaired by Brent Taylor, Vice President South of Teamsters Local 745 and Teamsters Joint Council 80, alongside Megan Mauro, Interim President of the Texas Association of Business — a labor-management pairing that’s either genuinely bipartisan or very good optics, depending on your cynicism level.
Rounding out the roster are Tony Bennett, Todd Staples, Hector Rivero, Scott Norman, Robert Mele, Robert Wayne Lord, Alan Robb, Lacy Wolf, and Mark Maher Jr. — a mix of industry, trade, and business voices that spans sectors well beyond any single corner of the Texas economy. The council has been characterized as an official advisory board, which carries formal weight in how its recommendations will be received.
What It’s Actually Supposed to Do
So what does the council do besides meet and issue statements? Quite a bit, at least on paper. Its mandate includes identifying executive actions that could reduce regulatory burdens on workforce training, crafting policy and legislative recommendations ahead of the 90th Legislative Session, and delivering a comprehensive final report by November 2026. That’s a relatively tight timeline for a body this new — which suggests the governor’s office wants something actionable, not just advisory theater.
Mauro, for her part, struck a tone that was both diplomatic and pointed. “[The council’s creation] sends a clear message to Texans about the governor’s strong commitment to expanding economic opportunity for everyone through workforce training and development,” she noted. The word “everyone” is doing some heavy lifting there — a nod, perhaps, to critics who’ve questioned whether Texas’s economic boom is reaching workers across all income levels and communities.
The Bigger Picture
Still, the political context matters. Abbott has consistently leaned into Texas’s economic record as both a governing philosophy and a reelection argument. Launching a high-profile jobs council — with bipartisan co-chairs, a cross-industry membership, and a hard deadline — fits neatly into that narrative. Whether the council produces reforms that meaningfully move the needle on workforce gaps, or whether it becomes a well-intentioned footnote, will depend largely on what happens in the legislative session and how seriously its November report is treated.
Abbott himself has been unambiguous about the stakes, emphasizing that Texas ranks number one for new jobs whether measured over the past year, since the pandemic, or since he took office — a triple-threat stat he clearly intends to protect.
The question now isn’t whether Texas has the jobs. It does. The question is whether it can build the workforce fast enough to keep the engine running — and whether a council born in March will have real answers by November.
