Houston suburb Pearland, Texas, is taking a proactive approach to strengthen workforce efforts for both employers and residents. 

Pearland Economic Development Corp., or PEDC, is an organization dedicated to business attraction, retention and job creation, taking a direct approach to keep the community thriving. 

PEDC Workforce Director Mou Sarkar explained the community’s approach to workforce development.

“We’re focused on building a more responsive workforce pipeline for our businesses. Instead of plugging them into cookie-cutter programs, we customize resources according to their needs,” she said. 

Sarkar walked Bisnow through some of the initiatives Pearland is taking to elevate its workforce efforts. 

Customized Support For Businesses

When businesses have a community they can reach out to for immediate support, Sarkar said it builds trust and confidence. 

“Through our BizConnect program, we listen to businesses to understand their workforce challenges,” she said. “We then work with them to find the right solutions for their needs. Whether that be through hiring resources like Work In Pearland, customized career-ready education programs through education partners, or funding for training and upskilling through the state of Texas.”

One program driving this effort is Work In Pearland, a partnership with the Pearland Chamber of Commerce. Work In Pearland is a centralized job portal and career resource hub that connects Pearland businesses with the local talent pipeline. Through both a digital platform and in-person events, such as the annual job fair on Sept. 16, 2026, the initiative provides employers and job seekers with direct access to local hiring opportunities.

The Texas Skills Development Fund is an additional resource that provides grants up to $500K to help businesses partner with local colleges for customized, high-demand job training to upskill their workforce. Since 2024, Pearland companies have tapped into more than $2M of grant funding for training and reskilling opportunities for their employees.   

“PEDC is connecting businesses to the resources so they can find, grow and retain talent,” Sarkar said. 

Engaging The Next Generation 

PEDC has also implemented several outreach programs to help grade school and high school students draw interest and cultivate their talent early. Through collaborations with the Pearland and Alvin independent school districts, the organization helps students gain hands-on opportunities. 

One opportunity that launched in June 2025 is a weeklong summer STEM camp program called Engineer Your Future, where preteen and teen students can learn about engineering. PEDC partnered again this summer with engineering and manufacturing firm Endress + Hauser, nonprofit Pumps and Pipes, and Alvin Community College.

“Students are meeting with the actual people working in this field,” Sarkar said. “They're learning about job opportunities as they take a tour of Endress + Hauser’s Pearland campus while spending a week doing a STEM camp, working with interns and learning how to build rockets and robots and the science behind them.”

Another opportunity is Jobs Y’all, a countywide event in partnership with Gulf Coast Workforce Board, where high-growth industry leaders talk about their careers and hiring opportunities to high school juniors and seniors. PEDC hosted the event for the third year in a row, connecting more than 200 students with 50-plus companies, Sarkar said.

“We also hosted mini-workshops for the students to learn how to interview and talk to employers at the event, and then employers found they could interview some of these graduating seniors for internships and jobs,” she said. “This is a great connection point that we were able to build.”

Addressing Youth Disconnection

While school districts have gotten much better at teaching these career pathways, students still often lack real-world exposure to employers, Sarkar said.

“I think these events like Jobs Y’all and Hire Gulf Coast Youth have become increasingly important to ensure that we can connect youth to careers and job opportunities right here in our city,” she said. 

PEDC has also worked alongside Brazoria County stakeholders to create a strategic five-year roadmap for reconnecting youth between 16 and 24 who are facing potential barriers, including being out of school, in the foster care system or experiencing financial stress. This is a critical opportunity to find potential talent for businesses and develop economic opportunity for youth who would otherwise be left behind, Sarkar said. 

“If we can pull disconnected youth back into the system through a coordinated countywide effort, then we can build a robust pipeline and fill in the gap left by retirees,” she said. 

Looking To The Future

To sustain this momentum, Pearland is working on its next five-year workforce strategy action plan. The planning committee includes 40 members representing local industries, education institutions and community partners, Sarkar said.

PEDC is building on a lot of the work that has been accomplished in the first five-year plan and is positioning itself on three pillars: employers, educators and community partners/residents. 

“Our goal is to continue to build a 360-degree workforce initiative that addresses needs from all angles,” Sarkar said. “We’re working through this ecosystem so we can build even more great careers here in Pearland. Our initiatives will address employment barriers and create more on-the-job training pathways to support the long-term success of Pearland employers.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Pearland Economic Development Corp. and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.