The Workforce and Economic Prosperity Summit takes place from 8 a.m to 1:30 p.m Wednesday at the Mount Pleasant, Texas, Civic Center.
Northeast Texas Regional Alliance is putting on the event to generate discussion about the state of the area's workforce and where it needs to go.
"More important, it is about how we get there," said Mike Malone, president and CEO of Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. "That is what this event is about: bringing together civic, political and economic leaders and interests into this event and have a discussion about this issue."
Various leaders and speakers will participate, including special guest presenter Texas Workforce Commissioner Julien Alvarez, state Sen. Bryan Hughes and more.
"It is all about raising awareness of the workforce issue," Malone said. "We want to nail down what is presently being done to prepare a workforce for the area's needs and what our local and regional institutions can do to help ensure we have this in the future."
He said the knowledge gained from the conference will be shared with school officials "to make sure they have what they need to produce the coming skilled workforce."
The Workforce and Economic Prosperity Summit is sponsored by AEP-Southwestern Electric Power Co. and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System.
Northeast Texas Regional Alliance serves a nine-county region and is composed of representatives from Bowie, Cass, Morris, Titus, Franklin, Hopkins, Delta, Lamar and Red River counties. The organization exists to give a unified voice to the region and represent the region's needs to state government in Austin. The Texarkana Chamber of Commerce helps coordinate efforts.