DENTON (UNT), Texas — As Denton County continues to grow, leaders from some of the region's largest employers are focused on a common challenge:

attracting and developing the talent needed to support the area's changing economy.

Those issues took center stage at the Dallas Business Journal's Denton County Growth Summit, which was hosted on UNT’s campus. UNT President Harrison Keller, Ph.D., joined Peterbilt Denton Plant Manager Brian Danhof and Medical City Denton CEO Steven Edgar for a discussion about the North Texas region’s growth.

For UNT, preparing students for the workforce means helping ensure their education translates into successful careers, Keller said. UNT is one of the county's largest employers and longest-established institutions and has long been known for helping prepare the workforce that fuels the region's economy.

“We don’t just need to train 18- to 22-year-olds differently,” said Keller, noting that UNT also sees a growing need to serve workers who are already in the workforce as technology and industries change. “We will need to upskill and reskill our incumbent workforce, and UNT is committed to being a partner in that.”

For Peterbilt, a longtime Denton County employer, manufacturing has become increasingly technical and data driven. The Denton plant produces trucks powered by diesel, natural gas and electricity, requiring employees who can adapt quickly to rapidly changing technology and customer demands.

Peterbilt also benefits from its proximity to UNT, particularly as the company looks for workers with skills in engineering, business and technology.

“Having that base of skills and convening with partners like President Keller here with their schools of engineering and business, we have a world-class logistics and business school right across the street, which is a huge advantage for us,” Danhof said.

Medical City Denton faces its own workforce challenges as the area’s population grows and the hospital expands its services. Edgar said recruiting and developing healthcare workers is essential to keeping pace with demand.

“We know there’s a shortage,” Edgar said. “There’s a shortage in physicians, a shortage in nursing, and all of the technologists.”

As Denton County grows, the panelists stressed that no single organization can meet the region’s workforce needs alone.

“We need to keep an emphasis on collaboration as we’re growing very fast,” Danhof said.

Keller said Denton’s willingness to bring different organizations together is one of the things he values most about the community.

“Here, people are very open to working together in new ways,” Keller said. “People are willing to put new ideas on the table and innovate the way forward.”

And UNT is committed to deliver the workforce solutions the region needs.

“The responsibility that comes with this region's growth is significant, and UNT takes it very seriously," Keller said. "That means credentials that translate into real careers for our students, a workforce employers can depend on, and outcomes that North Texas communities can see and feel in their own lives.”