City Council Overwhelmingly Approves Continuation of Ready to Work
Published on May 09, 2025
City Council Overwhelmingly Approves Continuation of Ready to Work’s Employer-Led Training Programs
SAN ANTONIO (May 9, 2025) — City Council overwhelmingly approved the continuation of the City of San Antonio’s Ready to Work (RTW) Incumbent Worker and On-the-Job Training (IWT/OJT) programs, earmarking $5.9 million to help San Antonio-based businesses train employees for the roles they need filled.
Through IWT and OJT, employers have the opportunity to directly impact their workforce and increase an employee’s earning potential.
During the City Council meeting, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said that the issues of generational poverty and stagnant economic mobility are too important to ignore. The Mayor noted that voters, the City of San Antonio, employer partners, training providers, and others involved are all on the same team, working toward the same goals – and that is keeping everyone accountable to the public.
“Now that we're well into this journey, I believe we’ll be able to continue providing for a more comprehensive workforce ecosystem in San Antonio,” the Mayor said. “I’m confident that the flexibility of RTW will keep the program nimble so that we may provide thousands of our neighbors with better career opportunities, while ensuring that all our partners remain accountable to the voters that overwhelmingly approved this initiative.”
City Manager Erik Walsh said, “These programs approved by City Council acknowledge the success that RTW has continued to see over the last three years and expand RTW’s offerings to thousands more in our community. I’m encouraged that our city leaders continue to recognize the importance of providing resources to local employers, which in turn accelerates training and job opportunities that help our San Antonio residents and workforce. The reimbursement process for these employers guarantees they will only gain from this program if they fulfill their obligations. This degree of accountability is a standard we all expect from our public initiatives.”
To date, 487 workers have been trained through these employer-based training programs by 29 San Antonio-based businesses. The combined trainee retention rate is 92%, with an average trainee wage of $21.32 per hour. In this latest round of IWT/OJT, a total of 75 businesses will participate in training more than 2,500 residents to obtain jobs that make a minimum of at least $20.00 per hour. Through the OJT program, up to 1,366 participants in the RTW pipeline will be hired over the next 18 months.
Employers addressed City Council members about the impact IWT and OJT is having on their businesses but more importantly how it is positively affecting their employees.
George “Chip” Saliba, owner of George Plumbing, which has been in existence since 1947, says that training today is more intense with the introduction of smart technologies. He and his company must be ready to respond and grow with the times.
“Plumbing has become more technology driven. Our employees used to see themselves as just task-doers. Through our partnership with the City and the Incumbent Worker Training program, they see themselves as truly skilled technicians,” Saliba said.
Tyler Schroeder, Senior Manager of Government Operations at Boeing, called the support from Council “transformative.”
“We are dedicated to creating pathways for San Antonians to thrive in one of the most exciting, innovative industries in the world,” Schroeder said. “The City’s focus on workforce development is instrumental in accelerating these efforts. Specifically, the IWT program within RTW will allow us to accelerate the upskilling and upward mobility of existing employees through a specialized program of training and coaching. This will not only lead to higher wages, but very importantly and often not talked about, it will help us make way for new entry and lower-level positions in our ranks for San Antonians to get into this positive economic cycle, and that is how we intend to use the IWT program.”