Episode Details

As part of the Future of Texas series in partnership with Texas 2036, this episode explores a critical question: how does Texas ensure its economic growth translates into real opportunity, mobility, and purpose for its people?

In this episode of Texas Talks, host Brad Swail is joined by Roy Spence, co-founder and longtime chairman of GSD&M and founder of the Make It Movement and the Purpose Institute, along with Renzo Soto, Deputy Director of Education and Workforce Policy at Texas 2036, for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of work in Texas.

The discussion focuses on skills, workforce readiness, career awareness, and how Texas can better connect students and workers to meaningful, high-opportunity careers. Soto explains how Texas is trying to align education and workforce systems earlier and more effectively, including through dual credit, career and technical education, outcomes-based funding, and better data connections between schools, colleges, and the labor market.

Spence argues that Texas does not just have a workforce challenge — it has a marketing challenge. He makes the case that young Texans and their families need clearer, more inspiring language around purpose, careers, and financial independence, and that the state must do a far better job of showing students the real opportunities available to them while they are still in school.

The conversation also explores:
• Why Texas is outperforming much of the country on enrollment and workforce growth
• The “90-60-30” challenge in postsecondary attainment
• How dual credit, CTE, and early career exploration can change student outcomes
• Why purpose matters just as much as paycheck
• How AI is reshaping work and why AI literacy matters for students and workers
• The importance of better education-to-workforce data
• Why Texas can lead the nation by helping more people “make it in Texas”

This is a big-picture conversation about how Texas can turn growth into real opportunity — not just for students entering the workforce, but for workers, families, and communities across the state.

00:00 — Introduction to the Future of Texas series and guest introductions
00:57 — Roy Spence on purpose, partnership, and marketing as a force for good
04:05 — Renzo Soto on why the future of work matters to Texas 2036
05:35 — The “90-60-30” challenge and postsecondary opportunity in Texas
07:18 — Why Texas is bucking national enrollment trends
11:10 — Roy Spence on purpose, talent, and not trying to be average
14:04 — The marketing problem: making Texans aware of career pathways
17:23 — Choice, purpose, and helping young people discover meaningful work
19:59 — Stress points in Texas: credentials, awareness, and workforce shortages
20:46 — Why better data is critical to workforce alignment
25:14 — AI, disruption, and preparing students for a changing economy
30:25 — How to make skilled careers exciting and purposeful
33:23 — What parents want and the case for financial independence
36:41 — Why early exploration and CTE opportunities matter
42:05 — What Texas is doing right on outcomes and accountability
48:49 — Rebranding pathways and measuring how many Texans are “making it”
57:22 — Final thoughts on success, purpose, and the Texas identity

Through the Future of Texas podcast series, Texas 2036 brings together diverse perspectives as we explore the opportunities and challenges facing our state over the next ten years. The views expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Texas 2036, its staff or its Board of Directors.

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