FRISCO (UNT), Texas — The University of North Texas brought together top industry, education and nonprofit leaders Sept. 4 to mark the launch of the Texas Talent Accelerator, a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen the North Texas workforce and support the state’s economic growth.

“The only way we can meet rapidly changing workforce needs at the speed and scale our region’s employers demand is by working together,” said UNT President Harrison Keller, Ph.D. “The Texas Talent Accelerator brings together the right partners to ensure our region continues to thrive as one of the fastest growing and most competitive in the nation.”

According to the Texas Demographic Center, the state’s population is expected to surpass 35 million within the next decade, and the U.S. Census Bureau projects the Dallas-Fort Worth area will become the nation’s third-largest metropolitan area with more than 10 million residents in the coming years. Since 2010, the region’s population has grown 16%, and North Texas is home to more than 20 of the state’s Fortune 500 company headquarters, according to Fortune magazine. North Texas is also home to the most top-tier higher education institutions of any Texas metropolitan area.

The Texas Talent Accelerator will bring together colleges, universities, businesses and community leaders to plan for the jobs North Texas will need in the future. Its goals include:

• Sharing information about which jobs and skills are in high demand
• Aligning academic curricula, credentials and work-integrated learning with high-demand occupations
• Helping businesses grow and stay in the region by making sure they have the workers they need
• Making it easier for businesses and higher education to work together

“One of the major barriers to economic development in any region is talent. Companies in this region cannot grow if they cannot find the skilled talent they are looking for,” said Ben Magill, who joined UNT this month as the executive director of the Texas Talent Accelerator and the university’s inaugural chief economic development officer. “The widescale adoption of AI only exacerbates the demand for getting people skilled and re-skilled. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for our higher education institutions.

“The Texas Talent Accelerator will be a regional labor market intelligence network that will facilitate economic development by bringing industry and higher education closer together and providing insights into talent supply and talent demand.

With UNT serving as the convening partner, the initiative is launching with support from founding partners — the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Strada Education Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, as well as Collin College, Dallas College, North Central Texas College, Texas State Technical College, Texas Woman’s University, and UNT Dallas.

“One of the most important skills today is having a learning and growth mindset — and that’s part of why we’re here,” said Peter Beard, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “Employers and educators need to work together to bring real-world, work-based experiences into the classroom. When industry and education align on skills and learning objectives, we can better prepare students for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

The higher education institutions committed educate more than 150,000 students each year and represent the backbone of the region’s talent pipeline.

“North Texas has world-class colleges and universities, but no single institution can address our workforce needs alone,” said Dr. Neil Matkin, who has served as district president of Collin College since 2015. “This partnership gives us the structure to break down silos and meet the needs of employers at scale.”The Texas Talent Accelerator is “designed to produce insights about the skills today’s students will need to compete in tomorrow’s workforce and to expand opportunities across our region through stronger partnerships,” President Keller said.

“The Texas Talent Accelerator represents a fundamental reimagining of how higher education and employers can work together,” he said. “We are committed to providing businesses with the talent they need to compete globally, while creating more opportunities for individuals across our region to succeed.”

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About the University of North Texas (UNT)
Ranked a Tier One research institution by the Carnegie Classification, UNT is one of the nation’s largest public research universities with more than 46,000 students who push creative boundaries and graduate with credentials of value so they can become tomorrow’s leaders. UNT is recognized as a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving Institution, reflecting the population of Texas. UNT students earned nearly 13,000 degrees last year in 240 degree programs, many nationally and internationally recognized. With a focus on academic excellence and graduating career-ready students, UNT has served as a catalyst for creativity since its founding in 1890, continually fueling progress, entrepreneurship and innovation for the North Texas region, the state — and beyond.

About Ben Magill
Ben Magill, CEcD, serves as the inaugural chief economic development officer and executive director of the Texas Talent Accelerator at the University of North Texas. Magill has worked as an economic development professional for municipalities, public schools, chambers of commerce, community colleges and universities in North Texas since 2006. In 2015, Magill became the founding executive director of the Labor Market Intelligence Center at Dallas College. In 2022, Magill and his team were awarded an $8.8 million Good Jobs Challenge grant by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to create a regional workforce training collaborative to prepare and place people in entry-level jobs in the emerging Biotech and Life Sciences ecosystem. Additionally, Magill recently guided the launch of (9) regional Next Gen Sector Partnerships. Magill is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and earned an Executive Certificate in Economic Development from the Harvard Kennedy School as well as a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Oklahoma State University. Magill is an alumnus of Leadership Dallas and the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunity Leadership Academy. Magill serves on the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Economic Development District Board, the board of Impact Ventures and the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center board.