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Lubbock, Texas, ranked in the Top 5 for the best business climate in mid-sized cities, according to the 2023 Business Facilities Metro Ranking. And the guest on this episode of the Business Facilities Podcast can speak to how the climate is changing for the better.
John Osborne, CEO of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, spoke with Associate Editor Kari Williams about how the Lubbock EDA has put a big focus on its workforce, along with downtown revitalization.
In the years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lubbock said he has seen “much more significant growth” than pre-pandemic.
“Texas is a great state to be in, and we’re thankful that Lubbock is in Texas. That helps us tremendously as it pertains to both people wanting to move here, and jobs wanting to be here,” he said. “And we were definitely benefiting from that. And the fact that we have universities here. We were really benefiting from.”
Lubbock also has one of the most comprehensive workforce development programs in the United States, according to Osborne. The work with students beginning in junior high to generate interest in trade schools, career and technical education programs and local universities.
“One thing that we’ve realized is that there’s kind of two new generations of the future workforce of the United States, Gen Y And Gen Z,” he said. “They choose where they want to live before they choose where they want to work. And so much of what they look at is what’s in your community.”
That’s where some of the city’s downtown revitalization comes in.
“ grown leaps and bounds over the last probably seven or eight years and as a result, we’re seeing more and more of our workforce want to remain in our community after they graduate from high school and college,” Osborne said. “But we’re also seeing a new trend where there are a tremendous amount of people that have started a family somewhere else or gotten their career started somewhere else. And they’re wanting to move back to Lubbock.”
Click below to listen to this conversation with John Osborne of Lubbock EDA. Share your thoughts on this topic in the Comments section below. This podcast will also be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Samsung Podcasts, and Podchaser.
