On visit to McAllen, Duncan Wood discusses economic development, workforce training, and political power
MCALLEN, Texas - The vice president for strategy and new initiatives at the Wilson Center says border communities need to be better organized in order to have more of a say in Washington, DC.
Duncan Wood, who also serves as a senior advisor to the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, spoke recently at an event hosted by the CEO Club and held at the McAllen Country Club.
After his speech Wood took questions from the audience. One came from Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez. He asked Wood what, from an economic development standpoint, is the Rio Grande Valley not doing that it could be. Wood responded that the companies he talks to often say they have a problem recruiting talent.
Wood said the companies tell him: “We have a problem in recruiting the right skill-set. We don't necessarily want the finished product because we can train workers ourselves. We can work with local communities, but we need to have a engineering-literate or business-literate or more energy-literate workforce that we can work with, that we can educate. And then we need to have partner institutions locally, with whom we have always been willing to invest in.”
Wood said more studies are needed on what skill-sets are lacking in the Valley. South Texas College President Ricardo Solis was in the audience. He told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service later that STC was carrying out all the recommendations Wood was making.
“I believe it's so important that we begin to actually do proper surveys of what the needs are in local communities, so that we know where the shortages are,” Wood said.
“Because, right now, I think there's a lot of speculation that goes on. But we need to talk to businesses on this side of the border, talk to businesses on the other side. Because, as we all know, they go hand-in-hand. You can't really do one without the other.
“So let's actually take the time and invest the resources to actually understand what the needs are in a forward-looking strategic manner. That's where I think we can actually make real progress, if we actually have the data on what skills are needed.”
Wood then turned to an issue he said he faces often in Washington. He said too many people in Congress see the border as a problem and not an opportunity. “We need to change the mindset on that,” he said.
“You know, I always find myself in this weird situation in Washington as an Englishman from Kent, who lived in Mexico and Canada, talking about the US-Mexico border and being the one in the room when, there's maybe a representative from Michigan who says that the border is a disaster. And then I say, have you gone down and seen what the opportunities are?”
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