(WACO) – Blake Cole grew up reading automotive magazines and at 10 could eagerly recite facts about cars to anyone who would listen.

As he grew up and began working, Cole also developed interests in accounting, fashion merchandising and restaurants.

The 2003 Midway High School alumnus said his life became focused when he enrolled at Texas State Technical College and began taking classes in the Auto Collision and Management Technology program. He received an associate degree in 2008.

“Once I went to TSTC, everything stuck,” he said.

After graduation, he worked at L3 ISR Systems in Waco painting airplanes and later moved to Missouri to work in the auto collision field.

“Just knowing I had learned something and could use it was helpful and a good feeling,” said Cole, now 34.

Cole’s being hired at Service King brought him back to Texas. He is currently the general manager at the Leander location.

“Coffee keeps me motivated,” Cole said. “But it’s always different. I’m never going to come into the same thing every day.”

Cole said he has seen an employment gap develop between workers in their 20s and those in their 40s and older who have been in the auto collision industry for several years. As these workers age and retire, new employees are needed to fill positions.

Clint Campbell, TSTC’s statewide department chair for Auto Collision and Management Technology, said there are goals for increasing the number of students studying in the program.

“We need to be getting our faces in front of these high school students, probably sophomores and up,” Campbell said.

The number of automotive body and glass repairers is expected to grow to about 195,000 jobs nationally by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cole said the auto collision industry also needs people with electrical, welding and computer programming and networking experience.

New hires at Service King are placed with experienced technicians in the company’s yearlong apprenticeship program at select locations. Cole said company recruiters can build relationships with technical colleges to find potential employees.

James McGee, 35, of Austin was hired by Service King in February and placed in its apprenticeship program. He received an associate degree from TSTC’s Auto Collision and Management Technology program in 2010.

“Get in as early as possible if that’s what you want to do,” McGee said about making a career choice. “Shadow as many people as you want.”

McGee already had some industry knowledge, having worked at small body shops,but said he was glad to learn about pulling techniques and heavy collision work through Service King’s new hire initiative.

“Our job is mainly to problem-solve,” McGee said. “I like the people, and I like to fix things. I like the sense of accomplishment when it’s done. The field will drive you crazy at times and make you head-over-heels excited at other times.”

Cole said employees complete work certifications through the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, or I-CAR, which provides training in all branches of the auto collision and management industry.

Vincent James, 25, of Leander is a Service King technician who works primarily on tearing vehicles down early in the repair process. He is a 2015 graduate of TSTC’s Auto Collision and Management Technology program.

“I like cars, and I like art. So I thought about auto collision as the melding of the two,” James said. “I was extremely hooked on it. There is something about body work that drew me into it.”

James said he likes the hands-on work and making customers’ vehicles look good.

Robert Castaneda, 29, of Jarrell graduated with an associate degree in 2012 from TSTC’s Auto Collision and Management Technology program.

He said wrecks caused by bad weather tend to mean that he and his co-workers stay busy. He said the rise in aluminum exteriors will mean more training and adaptation for workers in the future.

“I’m doing it until my body won’t let me do it anymore,” Castaneda said about his work. “Always listen and pay attention. There is more than one way to do things.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to www.tstc.edu.

(WACO) – The tradition of Del Rio High School graduates traveling more than five hours north to attend Texas State Technical College in Waco continues to grow.

“We’re especially proud that the Del Rio community values the work that we do and entrusts their students to us,” said TSTC Provost Adam Hutchison. “It’s a relationship that we intend to keep strong for many years to come.”

Brenden Paradis, 19, is one of at least 15 Del Rio students who were enrolled during the fall semester in TSTC in Waco’s Welding Technology program. He just finished his third semester in the program.

“The reason so many come here is because our (Del Rio High School) welding instructor, Tod Townsend, pushes us beyond high school and to get a college education,” Paradis said.

Knowing that many of Del Rio’s welding students have enrolled at TSTC since the late 1990s, as estimated by TSTC faculty members, made going to college easier for Paradis.

“All of the guys, at first, room together, but after the first year a lot tend to go out on their own,” he said.

Paradis became interested in welding after attending a job fair during his freshman year of high school. He was impressed with sculptures on display that were made by welders.

“I would tell (other) students to really think about their future before their senior year comes up,” Paradis said. “If you haven’t decided on something, it makes it difficult to pick a path to go down.”

After graduating in 2019 from TSTC, Paradis plans to take a summer advanced pipe course on campus and then work in custom fabrication.

Roger Gonzalez, director of career and technical education for the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District, said district staff looks at job opportunities in the area and reviews Texas Workforce Commission data to adapt classes for students. Some of the school district’s most popular career and technical education (CTE) courses are in aircraft technology, health sciences, law enforcement and welding.

“We want our students to graduate with more than a high school diploma and be future-ready,” Gonzalez said. “The school district continues to invest and expand the CTE program with the use of technology and industry equipment to better prepare our future graduates with expansion of industry certifications and dual-credit opportunities.”

Gonzalez said the students in Del Rio’s welding program build strong relationships with one another, making the transition to college a little easier.

“It seems TSTC is the destination for most of our welding students due to its excellent reputation within the welding community,” he said. “Our welding students never leave us, at least not entirely. Every chance they get, they come to our welding class and share their positive college experience with our current high school students. I believe the reputation and the bridge established between TSTC and our welding program is evidence of our current and future success.”

One Del Rio resident has started what he hopes is a new tradition for Val Verde County students attending TSTC.

Andres Hernandez, 19, of Del Rio finished his first semester in the Automotive Technology – Toyota Technician Training and Education Network, or T-TEN, specialization program. He is among the first generation in his family to go to college.

Hernandez said he has enjoyed the different teaching styles he encounters at TSTC and knowing more about automotive electrical systems.

Hernandez became interested in automobiles when he was a child because of his father, a mechanic. He learned about TSTC when a recruiter visited his high school when he was a sophomore.

“I knew most of the welding students go here (to TSTC),” Hernandez said. “It helped me because I would know some people here.”

Hernandez said he misses his family occasionally but enjoys living on campus. When he is home for visits, he gets work experience as a lube technician at Toyota of Del Rio. He said he also works on tire rotations and other routine maintenance.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to www.tstc.edu.

(WACO) – More than 350 graduates received certificates and associate degrees at Texas State Technical College’s Fall 2018 Commencement held Friday, Dec. 7, at the Waco Convention Center.

TSTC Provost Adam Hutchison started the ceremony with a moment of silence for Curt Persilver, former coordinator of student services, who died in October.

Many of the graduates already have jobs.

Jansice Baesler-Ridge, 21, of Waco graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Visual Communication Technology. She began working this summer as a designer at American Domino Co. in Lacy Lakeview.

“I’ve always loved art, and I have wanted to do art that is applicable,” Baesler-Ridge said. “Visual communication technology is the art of the future.”

Garrett Selby, 19, of Pleasanton graduated with an associate degree in the Diesel Equipment Technology program. He already has a job at Kirby-Smith Machinery in Abilene.

“It feels pretty nice,” he said.

Selby said he will miss the instructors giving their knowledge and the camaraderie with his classmates.

Some of the graduates will continue job hunting.

Cory Hoover, 23, of Burnet was the only graduate in Waco receiving an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electronic Communication Technology. He wants to look in the Austin area for a job.

“I enjoyed my time here and made a lot of good friends,” Hoover said. “I was able to have a close relationship with all the instructors because of the small classes.”

Anderson Merchant, 27, of Bryan received an associate degree and certificate from the Auto Collision and Management Technology program. He said he enjoyed learning about the painting and airbrushing processes during his studies.

“I’m really excited and nervous — and really curious what I will do after I graduate,” Merchant said. “It’s exciting to see my hard work recognized and translate that into true work skills.”

TSTC has more than 900 students graduating this fall across the state.

For more information, visit www.tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Mariano Perez of Waco learned early on about the meaning of work.

Perez, 19, began working at 13 with his father in the family’s residential concrete business. He spent many holiday breaks, weekends and sizzling days helping to pour concrete driveways, patios and sidewalks in McLennan County.

“It all started off with respecting the guys pushing the shovel all day long,” Perez said. “I learned the value of a dollar. I learned the general skills. I learned how to measure with the tape, how to hit a nail, how to use a sledgehammer.”

The knowledge Perez gained launched him into the Building Construction Technology program at Texas State Technical College. He is a candidate for graduation with an associate degree at TSTC’s Fall 2018 Commencement at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the Waco Convention Center.

“Mariano is a very hard worker and dedicated to everything he puts his hands on,” said Herschel Miller, a TSTC Building Construction Technology instructor.

Perez will start work on Monday, Dec. 10, at Big Creek Construction Ltd. in Lorena, where he will be trained on project scheduling.

Wade Miller, Big Creek’s assistant director, said Perez is the first graduate to be hired directly out of TSTC. The company currently employs several TSTC alumni.

“We are excited to have Mariano coming aboard,” Miller said. “He’s a very impressive young man, and we expect him to do well at our company.”

The company is a heavy-highway contractor working on Texas Department of Transportation road and bridge projects and occasional projects for the city of Waco.

Miller said TxDOT’s increase in spending on projects due to state propositions being passed by voters means more road and bridge improvements will be made in the next decade.

“This equates to roughly 70,000 employees needed to build this work,” Miller said. “The workforce across our industry and state is aging. We are running out of people to do this work. For this reason, programs by TSTC make sense to contractors like us.”

Perez’s goal is one day to own his own concrete business.

Perez graduated in 2017 from West High School where he took dual enrollment classes in general academics and automotive technology. He decided to pursue construction during his senior year.

“Honestly, I never gave up until I found my passion,” Perez said. “It is difficult to be successful if you don’t know what to do.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to www.tstc.edu.