Hundreds of Fort Worth high school students will graduate this year with a diploma and training that can put them directly into the workforce.

Why it matters: Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas as a whole continue to add thousands of skilled jobs, but not enough residents are trained to fill them.

• Industries are increasingly turning to training high schoolers to close the skills gap.

The big picture: The U.S. is already facing a health care worker shortage, with many longtime workers retiring or quitting after COVID.

• By 2037, the U.S. will be short more than 207,000 registered nurses, 187,130 physicians, 17,030 pharmacists and 9,140 physical therapists, according to federal projections.

How it works: Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker launched the Council on Education and Workforce in 2022 to connect high schoolers with professional certification programs and internships.

• For example, high school students can earn a certification to become a patient care technician, an entry level position in hospitals.

What they're saying: The programs help students decide what they love doing.

• "You have to be passionate about it in order for you to stick with it," Castleberry High School teacher Kristin Flewelling tells Axios. "If that's health care, great. Let's get you there. If it's not, let me help you find what you are passionate about."

Driving the news: At an event last week, Parker congratulated the more than 300 Fort Worth high school seniors who earned professional certificates and finished internships this school year.

• "It is not lost on me that this generation is so far ahead of everybody else," she told the students.

Between the lines: Training high school students is just one part of filling the skills gap. Businesses also offer training to prepare workers for jobs in a different industry.

The bottom line: "Education is the greatest equalizer for all populations," Parker tells Axios.

• "Give people the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families, and the only way to do that is to make sure they have educational opportunities to meet that moment."

The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has averaged about 95,000 new jobs a year for the past decade.

Why it matters: The metro has some of the country's fastest-growing cities in a state that continues to experience a population boom.

State of play: Texas added jobs at a faster rate than the nation in the past year. Around 192,000 jobs were added from March 2024 to March 2025, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

The intrigue: Medical and health service jobs are projected to be the fastest-growing occupations nationwide in the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Zoom in: D-FW has added more than 59,000 jobs since March 2024.

• The number of education and health service jobs in the D-FW area has increased nearly 2% since February 2024.

A majority of Texas business executives expect their companies to be negatively impacted by higher tariffs this year, per a Dallas Fed survey released yesterday.

Why it matters: Retailers nationwide are warning that President Trump's trade war could trigger product shortages and price spikes as Chinese imports slow.

• Many Texas business leaders, including retailers, expect to pass cost increases from tariffs on to customers, per the new Dallas Fed survey.

Flashback: Texas manufacturing activity fell in February in anticipation of Trump's tariffs.

What they did: The Dallas Fed surveys business executives every month about employment and prices. The latest survey includes responses from 356 executives surveyed April 15-23.

• Survey respondents also had the option to share comments anonymously about the impact of tariffs. Many reported feeling uncertain about their business outlooks.

What they're saying: One business leader called the tariff policy "a self-inflected pandemic."

• "I feel the administration has done little to describe what the end game will be and has caused more uncertain[ty] by not explaining honestly what we American businesses will be facing," a food service executive wrote.

The other side: "As we are an American manufacturer, it is positive protection to our business against cheap and low-labor-cost manufacturers around the world," an electronics manufacturer wrote.

Go deeper: How tariffs can cause a recession

🍽 The chef and co-owner of Tatsu, which has Dallas' only Michelin star, plan to open a second restaurant that will offer a multi-course Japanese dinner. (DMN)

👟 Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving launched a new red shoe in honor of his late mother. (Athlon Sports)

🔎 Fort Worth police spent almost $7,000 on a New York trip to investigate photographer Sally Mann, after her exhibit at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was accused of showing child pornography. (Fort Worth Report)

Today's taco tasting takes us to a no-frills Grand Prairie restaurant with a large menu, excellent pricing and a drive-thru.

The intrigue: We ordered four tacos, agua fresca and an elote cup for around $21 at Taqueria el Jacalito.

• The menu includes breakfast tacos, tortas and huaraches — an oblong shaped masa cake topped with meat, cheese, lettuce, avocado and sour cream.

What to order: Carne asada tacos on corn tortillas

Where: Taqueria El Jacalito, 1902 E. Main St., in Grand Prairie

Cost: $2.50 per taco

Six-word review: Double corn tortillas protect meat, toppings.

🤔 Know a great taco we should try? Hit reply and let us know.