Aaron Demerson is transforming the landscape for businesses and workers.
Seven months after Aaron Demerson assumed his role on the Texas Workforce Commission, a new sheriff rode into town: COVID-19.
Demerson, the commissioner representing employers throughout the state, faced the same economic crises as every other state government executive: massive layoffs, employee childcare emergencies and the near-complete shutdown of certain industries, such as food service and lodging. And his problem was the size of Texas. The way he and his team addressed the challenge helped Texas Workforce Commission's rapid mobilization of government resources earn nationwide praise for assisting Texas businesses and keeping employees working or in the safety net of state benefits until the jobs returned.
Now, Demerson has the opposite challenge: finding enough skilled workers for Texas’s booming economy. Since June 2022, the state has gained more than half a million jobs—the highest nationwide in both volume and percentage since the pandemic began. As commissioner, Demerson’s new task is bringing and building innovative approaches to the state’s workforce, economic development and education.
With a degree in finance and a background in banking, Demerson has spent most of his career in government work—although he straddles the line: “I see myself as a bridge between the public and private sector,” he says. “I enjoy bringing folks together.”
For example, when the pandemic hit, Demerson held more than 90 town hall meetings across the state, where local businesses could learn from both government and private-sector experts how to stay open safely, in turn preserving revenue and jobs. “We also convened industry associations to share best practices,” he says. “This is a huge state. You can drive 14 hours and still be in Texas. Looking back, we were doing some heroic work and not even recognizing it at the time. But as we say in Texas, ‘It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.' Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas leadership simply led in true Texas fashion.”
These days, Demerson fields calls from executives at companies like Lockheed Martin, Tesla and Samsung, the latter of which is building a $25 billion computer chip plant near Austin, in Taylor, Texas. All of them need skilled workers, as do small businesses statewide.
To help meet those needs, the Commission has 28 local workforce boards that operate over 170 field offices strategically placed throughout Texas. Employers and workers can access job training programs suitable for anyone wanting to learn new skills. In addition, the workforce boards assist high school and college students seeking internships and apprenticeships. Demerson recalls that when Toyota broke ground on its San Antonio pickup truck plant 20 years ago, finding welders for the construction stage was an issue. “Now, we have the welders, the plumbers, the pipe fitters, the folks in healthcare and IT,” he says. “We don’t want any company looking at Texas and saying, ‘You don’t have the workforce.’”
Most importantly, Texas has a pipeline for young workers, thanks in part to Demerson’s latest initiative, Texas Interns Unite. This is one of many efforts geared toward finding Texas’ future workforce. Another is a state program called TXWORKS, which pays $10 an hour toward an intern’s compensation. “So, if you want to pay an intern $20 an hour, TXWORKS will reimburse half of it,” he says. “Now, what CEO or CFO doesn’t get excited about that?”
Of course, the ultimate beneficiaries are the students. “And after community college, some students are going right on the factory floor—making $50,000 to $60,000 base pay, but much more with overtime. You’re changing lives at that point.”
Demerson’s own life was changed by his early interest in public service. While growing up in San Antonio’s East Side, he earned money doing yardwork and errands for a neighbor who was involved in community activism, a passion he paid forward on the student senate at Texas A&M-Kingsville and brings to his work today.
“It sounds simple, but effective communication is the key to success,” he says. “I have no hidden agenda. If there’s something that’s going to work for an employer and there’s a public-sector program that helps, I’m excited to introduce them to it. Our expectations in Texas are high. When something needs to get done, we saddle up and take care of business.”
