INTRODUCTION

The Texas Panhandle needs workers with the job skills that employers need so that business, government and other organizations can successfully accomplish their work. Ideally, workers with these skills will earn wages and benefits that allow their families to be self-sufficient. The Panhandle Career Handbook 2006 is designed to provide detailed information about a select list of occupations associated with these skills.

The Panhandle Workforce Development Board, a group of 25 leaders who represent business, labor and nonprofit organizations in the region’s 26 counties, annually identifies occupations that meet specific criteria, including high demand, good wages and benefits. These are the occupations for which the Board is funding may provide scholarships to help train unemployed individuals or low-wage workers.

Please note that these occupations do not represent all of those whose skills are needed by local employers. A full list of demand occupations is in the Handbook’s Resource Directory.

The Handbook’s Resource Directory also offers more information about careers, training providers and the Panhandle’s labor market to help schools, students, parents, job seekers and employers plan for future skill development.

Individuals interested in obtaining assistance with training in these occupations may visit or contact the region’s eight Workforce Solutions Panhandle office (formerly “Texas Workforce Centers”), which are designated to provide Board-funded services. Contact information is listed in the Handbook’s Resource Directory.

Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, as the administrator for the Panhandle Workforce Development Board, has developed and published the Panhandle Career Handbook 2006 in electronic form only. The Handbook is located on the Workforce Solutions Panhandle website (http://wspanhandle.com) but may be printed for public or private use and distributed freely if the source information is included in the document and other materials.