Workforce Development & Training - Houston Area Urban League (HAUL)

Providing Economic Empowerment through Workforce Development Initiatives

The Houston Area Urban League’s Workforce Development and Training Program is designed to equip individuals with the skills and resources needed to succeed in today’s evolving job market. Focused on serving historically underserved communities, the program provides access to job readiness training, career counseling, industry certifications, and employment placement support.

Participants receive hands-on guidance to strengthen both technical and soft skills, preparing them for careers in high-demand fields such as healthcare, information technology, skilled trades, logistics, and customer service. The program also includes resume building, interview preparation, digital literacy, and financial education to support overall economic mobility. By connecting individuals with employers, training partners, and career pathways, the Workforce Development and Training Program helps participants achieve long-term employment, financial independence, and a clear path toward economic self-reliance.

Providing Economic Empowerment through Workforce Development Initiatives

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Core Programs

HAUL’s Workforce Development and Training (WFD) program is spearheaded by various initiatives to provide individuals with the resources and skills to be marketable in a competitive labor market.

Our WFD programs available are as follows:

Basic Skills Training

Employment Orientation (also known as Basic Skills Training)

Providing a formidable foundation to secure employment.

This core program provides individuals with the essential skills that will ensure those seeking employment with more opportunities to successfully find a part-time and/or full-time position. The basic skills that we provide to individuals through our Employment Orientation Core Program include the following: personal assessment, resume development, presentation skills/dress for success, effective communication skills, and interviewing techniques. Through this basic but beneficial skills training, individuals are more prepared to find gainful employment more effectively, but most importantly, they can have the confidence necessary to pursue jobs in which they previously believed they were not qualified or prepared to apply.

Core Skills Training

Attaining the confidence and the belief necessary to become gainfully employed.

Our core program, Core Skills Training, is an extension of our Basic Skills Training program, but it specializes in providing individuals with a particular skill set that will enable them to project more confidence and have the belief to acquire gainful employment. Initiatives include peer-to-peer engagement, as well as providing support services. This core program also provides soft skills, more specifically coping skills, enabling individuals to seek and secure employment. The Core Skills Training program also offers strategies to improve upon interviewing skills, as well as communication and social interaction skills. These capabilities that we provide to individuals in this program will supply the confidence necessary to search and gain employment, but also ensure they are able to stay employed.

Workforce Occupational Skills

Preparing individuals towards achieving success in high demand occupations

There is a great need to address how necessary it is to provide individuals with the skills, tools and resources to secure better professional opportunities. With each passing year, the demand for skilled professionals in various industries that will expand in the coming years is significant. The Workforce Occupational Skills Core Program provides the tools that will prepare individuals to succeed in emerging and high-growth industries.

Through various initiatives, such as the National Center for Construction Education and Research Core Curriculum (NCCER) for industry craft skills, the Urban Apprentice Jobs Program, and the Urban Tech Jobs 2.0 program, we are providing individuals with varied options that they can choose from and ultimately gain the skills to secure employment and most importantly, secure professional success for themselves and creating a positive economic impact for their loved ones.

Urban Youth Pathways

Providing a formidable foundation to secure employment.

Urban Youth Pathways

The Houston Area Urban League’s Urban Youth Pathways program empowers youth ages 14–21 with the skills and certifications needed to launch meaningful careers. Participants receive free in-person certification training and job placement assistance in high-demand fields like Information Technology and Craft Trades—Energy/Construction.

The program also offers:

· Job referrals and one-on-one job coaching

· Resume development and interview prep

· Image management and soft-skills training

· Access to support services and job placement assistance

Eligible participants may qualify for:

· Transportation assistance

· Paid work experience

· Support services and program incentives

Urban Youth Pathways is designed to remove barriers and open doors to career success.

Project Elevate/Center for Energy Workforce Development

Project Elevate is a dynamic workforce development program by the Houston Area Urban League designed to prepare underrepresented youth for careers in high-growth industries, especially within the Clean Energy and Information Technology sectors. The program focuses on pre-apprenticeship training, industry certifications, and job placement assistance to equip participants with the tools they need to succeed.

Participants benefit from:

· 80 hours of hands-on renewable energy training through HAUL’s NCCER-certified program, including topics such as Solar Power, Biomass, OSHA-30 Safety, and more

· IT certification pathways from entry-level (CompTIA ITF, A+, Networking+) to advanced (AWS Cloud Practitioner, Solutions Architect)

·Comprehensive support services including soft-skills development, workplace readiness, financial literacy, and life skills coaching

Project Elevate creates real opportunities by connecting youth with industry partners, mentors, and career tracks that promote long-term success.

UW Financial Stability and Basic Needs

The program offers Employment Orientation and Job Readiness training, Career Planning, Employment Coaching, and Supportive Services. Participants also receive Occupational Skills Training through NCCER Basic Apprentice Trades, industry-specific job readiness preparation, skills assessments, and financial coaching.

Urban Tech Jobs

Services include coordination with the National Urban League to provide technology training for adults, including those who are long-term unemployed, underemployed, or seeking a career change. The program offers skills training, nationally recognized industry credentials, and clear career pathways.

Workforce Pathways For Youth

Program services support youth participants and/or other program participants with resources and activities to prepare youth to enter the workforce.

America Building Apprenticeship/Urban Energy Jobs

Program services support youth participants and/or other program participants with resources and activities to prepare youth to enter the workforce.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Gulf Research Program’s Workforce Development for the Energy Transition

This project will provide youth with workforce development services needed to find careers in emerging energy sectors, including solar, wind, and hydrogen and connect participants in preparatory training and/or pre-apprentices to registered apprenticeship programs in the clean energy industry.

SHELL Power Through Parternship WD&T

The Program will ensure students graduating from High Schools are prepared for College culture and success by strengthening our partnerships with HBCU institutions. Program provides support to “strengthen workforce and career placement”, facilitate youth employment opportunities, and measure college success and culture for each youth through their academic and career plan, and personal portfolio that will help them achieve their life goals.

In The News

Comcast is Helping Houstonians Learn Digital Skills for Free

Comcast is Helping Houstonians Learn Digital Skills for Free
The company’s ‘Digital Navigator’ programs teach digital skills that will provide greater opportunities and quality of life.

HOUSTON — Almost every job or level of education requires some level of digital skill. Whether it’s working a cash register, joining an online conference call, or accessing information, these digital skills are vital to know.

According to a recent report, jobs that require even one digital skill pay an average of 8-thousand dollars a year more than jobs with no digital skill requirements. Yet the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Communities Survey found that one in ten households, or 687,086 households, in the greater Houston area do not have an internet subscription or a computer… or may be without both.Click here to view the full article.

Upcoming Events

To learn more about our Workforce Development programs, you can visit any of our WFD sessions and related events. All pertinent information can be found in our calendar of events.

Partner with Us

If you are interested in partnering with HAUL to empower our Workforce Development Program by providing your expertise, resources, and other opportunities for the betterment of our community, please contact Rommell Williams at rwilliams@haul.org.