Dive Brief:

• An upskilling search engine, Meritize Connect, will now connect Texans with training opportunities, according to a Feb. 13 news release from Meritize, which describes itself as a "developer of funding solutions for skills-based education and workforce development."
• The platform, which is launching initially in Texas, is described as a national training program that gives users access to more than 2,300 training programs from 95 skills-based training providers. Training areas include healthcare, aviation and industrial maintenance. Meritize said that the search engine also provides information on each program, including the cost, duration and how to navigate the admissions process.
• "Our region's growing economy has left employers scrambling for talent. But the landscape of education and training providers can be both complicated and costly for workers to navigate," Meritize CEO Chris Keaveney said in a news release. "This is about bridging the gap between the fastest-growing employers in Texas and often-overlooked talent that will fuel the state's most dynamic industries."

Dive Insight:

Employers' ability to survive the digital disruption will depend on their willingness to upskill and reskill workers, according to a Randstad Sourceright study released last month. An overwhelming majority of HR professionals polled (91%) said they think it's their organization's duty to reskill workers to address the talent shortage, but 22% are training or reskilling their current staff to address the issue.

The investment in training and development is becoming a higher priority for many employers. And that priority is manifesting itself in a variety of ways. Amazon, for example, announced last year that its Amazon Future Engineer program will finance introductory and advanced placement science courses in more than 2,000 high schools nationwide. The company also said that the funds will support teachers who train students from different backgrounds in coding.

Similarly, Amazon also pledged $700 million to upskill 100,000 of its U.S. workers for the fastest-growing jobs of the future.