Author Archives: Daniel Perry

TSTC Students Look to Sweetwater Events Center as Source for Jobs

(SWEETWATER) – The Nolan County Coliseum Complex is giving Texas State Technical College students the opportunity to attend classes and learn about work quality and responsibility.

The multi-structure events venue on Coliseum Drive in Sweetwater has at least 12 TSTC students working varying hours depending on scheduled events. Some of March’s activities include a 4-H Club quilting show, a quinceanera, team roping competitions and a 4-H horse contest.

“They want gas money, they want food money, they want money for their education,” said Terry Locklar, the coliseum’s general manager, about his student workers. “These are the guys and females that have a goal in mind and know what it takes to achieve that goal. It’s been a great asset for us as far as having people you can count on and have that customer relations experience and that mindset of the harder work you do, the more you achieve.”

The students and more than 10 full-time and permanent part-time staff have been transforming the coliseum area this week from hosting junior high school and high school rodeos to getting ready for rattlesnakes. The Sweetwater Jaycees’ annual World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup will host more than 25,000 visitors from across Texas and the nation from Friday, March 10, to Sunday, March 12. The event, which has at least an $8 million annual economic impact on Nolan County, includes the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant, a flea market, a gun and knife show, roping contests and a carnival.

Saul Biscaino, 20, of Pleasanton and a fall 2016 Welding Technology graduate taking an extra welding class to learn more techniques this semester at TSTC, is looking forward to his first rattlesnake event. He works at least 30 hours a week and has been employed at the complex since last summer.

“It’s been a real good experience,” Biscaino said about his work. “When they have the rodeos, I am responsible for the financial paperwork and making sure everything that needs to be paid for is, and everything put out in the stalls gets put out.”

Biscaino has also done welded panels on livestock stalls and built countertops for sinks in new restrooms in the complex’s annex.

“I’m very fortunate,” he said. “I’m very grateful to the coliseum staff that gave me the opportunity to continue my classes and work here and get as many hours as I can.”

One of Biscaino’s co-workers, 20-year-old Devin Klar of San Antonio, has been working at the complex since the fall. Klar is a Wind Energy Technology major and is scheduled to graduate in May from TSTC.

This weekend, Klar will make sure trash is picked up and help out where needed on the grounds during the rattlesnake event.

“Working at the coliseum has taught me a lot,” he said. “It’s given me a lot of integrity, and we are given a lot of responsibility here. It is given to us with trust, and we get that trust very quickly. I am able to follow through and make decisions.”

TSTC Lends Support to Annual Marshall Chamber Banquet

(MARSHALL) –The Texas State Technical College Foundation is solidifying a relationship with the Greater Marshall Chamber of Commerce by serving as a dinner sponsor for the organization’s annual banquet.

The event, with the theme “There’s No Place Like Home,” will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, at the Marshall Convention Center on East End Boulevard South in Marshall. Chamber leaders will announce the Citizen of the Year and Ambassador of the Year and celebrate the work and progress of businesses in Harrison County.

TSTC in Marshall Provost Barton Day is the chamber’s chair-elect of the Board of Directors for 2018, and Jessica Ford, a field development officer for The TSTC Foundation, is a chamber ambassador. TSTC is a chamber member.

“The chamber is here to enlist the help of industries, retail and wholesale businesses, even our professional services and citizens, to make sure we all play a part as stakeholders in the economic development of our community and Harrison County,” said Stormy Nickerson, the chamber’s executive director.

Nickerson has personal experience with TSTC. One of her sons is a Biomedical Equipment Technology graduate and another son is scheduled to graduate in the same program this spring. Her husband, Brian Nickerson, is an instructor in the technical college’s Electrical Lineworker Technology program.

“TSTC is in the market of placing individuals for quality employment after they graduate,” Nickerson said. “We appreciate elements of their programs, like the Money-Back Guarantee. They are making a bold and brave statement to train people to move forward in the work environment. We need all the relationships with higher education. It’s vital we have the jobs to boost our industrial community, and TSTC helps us get there.”

Lewis Engineering Co. on East Houston Street in Marshall is an active chamber member. Adam Hopkins, the firm’s quality manager, graduated in 2011 from TSTC with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Aided Drafting and Design.

Hopkins, 28, a Marshall native and graduate of Texas Early College High School, said he has been fortunate to be able to stay close to family throughout his career.

“I think it’s awesome to have a technical college here that offers those skills that are in demand here in the region,” Hopkins said.

TSTC Solar Energy Technology Program Ready to Supply Industry Growth

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College’s Solar Energy Technology program is growing and poised to fill an expected growth of jobs in the state.

Equipment used for program lectures and labs will be moved throughout the spring semester from an older metal building on Airline Drive to a newer, larger structure up the road next to the Building Construction Technology program’s building. The new building provides more space to teach solar energy design, troubleshooting, solar thermal systems and other classes.

“Having spent several years in the industry recently, I have a detailed understanding of what employers require in their employees,” said Hugh Whitted, a Solar Energy Technology instructor at TSTC. “Using this experience, I have made adjustments to curriculum and labs that allow students to be successful employees.”

TSTC is helping to contribute to the state’s growing solar energy industry.

Solar energy technology jobs grew in Texas by more than 30 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to The Solar Foundation’s 2016 National Solar Jobs Census. In 2015, there were 7,030 industry jobs and in 2016, the workforce grew to more than 9,300. This put Texas third in the country in solar energy jobs, followed by California and Massachusetts.

Texas had about 21,000 commercial and residential properties using solar panels as of summer 2016, according to the Texas Solar Energy Society. Usage has been seen primarily in parts of Texas that use deregulated energy sources and in the Austin and San Antonio areas, according to information compiled by the state solar energy society.

“Solar is growing in Texas right now,” Whitted said. “With federal rebates and local rebates being offered and a climate that makes solar very productive, many individuals and businesses are adding in solar power.”

TSTC alumnus Kalden Swinson, 27, sees daily how solar energy is being embraced in commercial and residential projects as a project designer and drafter at Austin-based NATiVE.

The Ennis resident works from home and travels to Austin periodically for meetings at the green-building firm specializing in solar electric systems, energy efficiency, construction and rainwater collection.

“I think solar is the future and I hope the federal rebate system won’t totally deteriorate,” Swinson said.

Swinson said he was glad he took courses in instrumentation, alternative current circuits and physics early on at TSTC, where he graduated in 2012 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Solar Energy Technology.

“Take every class seriously and think about what you want to do,” said Swinson, a graduate of Maypearl High School in Ellis County.

There were more than 260,000 solar jobs in the United States in 2016, according to the solar jobs report. Nine percent of the workers were veterans, while 28 percent were women and 17 percent were Hispanic.

TSTC offers the Associate of Applied Science degree in Solar Energy Technology. Since 2011, the program has had more than 20 graduates.

TSTC Electrical Lineworker Technology Program a Source for Area Power Providers

(MARSHALL) – Area electrical providers continue searching for qualified workers to replace an aging workforce. Texas State Technical College stands ready to fill the void.

Students in TSTC’s Electrical Lineworker Technology program prepare for the field by taking classes in electrical calculations, live line safety, distribution operations, electrical theory and testing, along with other topics. The program had more than 20 graduates in 2016.

“For the right person who is dedicated to entering the industry, the possibilities of employment are almost endless,” said Eric Carithers, TSTC’s statewide department chair for Electrical Distribution and Industrial Systems. “Our students coming through the program are challenged with real-life scenarios that they will most certainly encounter when they go into industry.”

Texas had more than 10,900 electrical power line repairers and installers — the most in the nation — earning an annual mean wage of $53,780 as of May 2015, according to recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Woodlands-Houston-Sugar Land and Dallas-Plano-Irving areas had the largest concentration of lineworkers in Texas, with more than 4,600 as of May 2015, according to the labor statistics bureau.

The number of electrical lineworkers in Texas is expected to grow to 13,780 by 2024, according to projectionscentral.com, a clearinghouse of national and state job market predictions.

The Panola-Harrison Electric Cooperative in Marshall services customers in Harrison and Panola counties in Texas and Caddo and DeSoto parishes in Louisiana. The cooperative has more than 30 employees servicing more than 13,600 commercial and residential members.

“We have had good success in recent years hiring young linemen,” said Kathy Wood, a general manager at the electric cooperative. “We have quite a bit of people that apply to work for Panola-Harrison. Our culture here is different than an investor-owned company. We are small and more family-oriented. We have hired TSTC linemen in the past.”

Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) based in Shreveport, Louisiana is one of seven regional electric utilities for Ohio-based American Electric Power. The company has recruited several TSTC graduates for jobs in power plant operations, maintenance, instrumentation and electrical work. SWEPCO provides electrical services to several counties in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

“Our economy depends on electricity — there can’t be water supplies, information technologies or even health care without it,” said SWEPCO President and Chief Executive Officer Venita McCellon-Allen. “With a local economy fueled by electricity, there is a need for highly skilled craft jobs and apprentice linemen programs to feed this growth. And with the average age of a utility lineman at 50 years old, this intersection of growth and an aging workforce has presented us some challenges to providing skilled lineworkers for today and the future.”

SWEPCO contributed $350,000 in early 2008 to help start the Electrical Lineworker Technology program at TSTC. The Marshall Economic Development Corporation donated five acres for the technical college’s outdoor Electrical Lineworker Technology training lab in 2009.

Carithers said plans are being developed to have students learn CPR/first aid and earn traffic control certifications.

TSTC students can graduate with the associate degree or certificate in Electrical Lineworker Technology and have 30 hours of Occupational Safety and Health Administration training.

“TSTC makes our communities strong and vibrant through valuable skills training and workforce development,” McCellon-Allen said.

Midway, C.H. Yoe Students Win Top Prizes at Science and Engineering Fair at TSTC

(WACO) – Area middle school and high school students were awarded Wednesday morning for their creative efforts at the Central Texas Science and Engineering Fair at Texas State Technical College in Waco.

Students from schools in Brown, McLennan, Milam and Navarro counties received awards in junior and senior divisions at the event’s recognition ceremony. Students from 13 Central Texas counties entered more than 150 projects ranging from engineering to animal science for the 61st annual event.

“I felt we had a successful fair this year,” said Linda Morris, an adjunct instructor in TSTC’s Environmental Health and Safety and Radiation Protection Technology program and science fair co-chair. “This is where a student is able to take a personal interest and turn it into a project.”

Edward Kim, 17, a senior at Midway High School in Waco, and Neeraj Bhakta, 17, a junior at C.H. Yoe High School in Cameron, will represent the region at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Los Angeles.

Kim is a repeat winner at the regional event and last year won in biochemistry at the international contest. Kim, a valedictorian of his senior class who plans to attend Harvard University this fall, said the contest’s research projects all start with the scientific method, then work down to students’ curiosity and actions.

“Every time it is very different and it is a new journey,” Kim said.

Bhakta, who wants to attend Texas A&M University, said his project, “The Reaction of Vegetation to Cultivation after Remaining Undisturbed for 15 Years,” was tied to his longtime appreciation for nature.

“I can name 315 species of plants,” he said.

Rebecca Kostroun, 14, a freshman at C.H. Yoe High School, was named an alternate to the international event.

The top three winners in the junior and senior division categories move on to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair in March in San Antonio.

Brooklyn Barrett, 15, a freshman at Live Oak Classical School in Waco, placed first in the microbiology contest in the senior division for high school students. Her project was on natural versus pharmaceutical antibiotics. She said she will work to improve her project before traveling to San Antonio.

“At the science fair, you get to talk to other people,” Barrett said. “There are not mean spirits here. Everyone worked hard on their projects.”

Dawson Bates, a senior at McGregor High School, received a $1,000 TSTC scholarship. Bates, a member of the high school’s tennis and robotics teams, wants to study computer programming. He said he was surprised to receive the recognition.

His science fair project was on how font sizes and types affect the size of text documents.

Bates’ science fair advisor, Debbie Singer, said participation for McGregor students was voluntary.

“McGregor is a small school,” she said. “The kids that are here are involved in everything. They did these projects independently. They chose the topics, but I wanted to drive them to something that interested them.”

TSTC Filling Nursing Needs in Stephens County

(BRECKENRIDGE) – Texas State Technical College is helping to keep quality medical care available in Stephens County.

“The local Vocational Nursing program has been a tremendous asset to our field physicians in our hospitals, nursing homes and clinics,” said Virgil Moore, executive director of the Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation and a member of The TSTC Foundation Board of Directors. “It definitely helps fill a gap, and we are fortunate in Breckenridge that we have something like that available. Most rural communities do not.”

TSTC’s Breckenridge campus offers a certificate in Vocational Nursing and currently has 12 students in the program. Students take classes in basic nursing, pharmacology, medical terminology, medication administration and applied nursing skills. Some of the training is done on medical simulation dummies that can be programmed to mimic a range of health situations.

“The program covers a wide variety of skills,” said Trisha Otts, interim director of the Vocational Nursing program in West Texas, but who will become permanent director at the end of February. “We get a lot of the students straight out of high school. The main hurdle is getting clear background checks from the Texas Board of Nursing.”

There were more than 70 full-time licensed vocational nurses in Stephens County as of September 2016, according to the most recent information from the Texas Board of Nursing. Most of the county’s licensed vocational nurses worked in general practices, geriatrics, surgical areas and home health.

Chris Curtis, practice administrator at Breckenridge Medical Center, which is owned by Stephens Memorial Hospital, said a majority of the nurses are TSTC graduates.

“Without the nursing program, we would really struggle to find nurses,” Curtis said. “TSTC is where they all come from. They do their clinical sessions at the clinic and the hospital, and this gives them an idea of what they want to do in their careers.”

The technical college is a tool Moore uses to attract new companies to the county.

“Finding skilled labor is a big challenge,” Moore said. “The smaller the area you are talking about, the more of a challenge it is. A lot of times we rely on basically a promise that we are going to supply you with a skilled workforce, and you tell us the skills you need and we can train the people locally to fill those jobs. It’s worked out really well for us.”

Otts, a graduate of TSTC, said she envisions working with area school districts in the future to try to provide dual enrollment opportunities for high school students interested in nursing.

Open House will be held at TSTC in Breckenridge from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. For more information, go to tstc.edu/openhouse.

Midlothian Economic Staff Visits TSTC

(RED OAK) – Members of Midlothian Economic Development recently toured Texas State Technical College in North Texas to learn about technical education.

“The short drive to the facility is a value to our existing industry and new businesses looking to expand to Midlothian,” said Larry S. Barnett, president and chief executive officer of Midlothian Economic Development, the city’s growth and economic arm. “Having the hands-on equipment in the machine shops and qualified program leaders brings credibility for economic development as we demonstrate the ongoing efforts to educate the workforce and provide a trained workforce to industry.”

Some of Midlothian’s industries focus on steel manufacturing, retail distribution, cement production and auto processing.

“Midlothian Economic Development relies on training through the Skills Development Fund to benefit both existing and new companies,” Barnett said. “Our goal is to expand the use of these funds to more industry, and TSTC will play an important role in this effort.”

Midlothian and TSTC have forged a valuable alliance in Ellis County.

Gerdau Ameristeel on Ward Road is one of the city’s largest employers. The company sends workers to study industrial maintenance at the Red Oak campus. And, Midlothian High School students have visited the campus in the past for Program Highlight Day.

“Our ultimate goal is to place more Texans, and working closely with organizations like Midlothian Economic Development helps us accomplish that,” said Jessica Ford, a field development officer for The TSTC Foundation. “A strong, skilled and highly trained workforce is a key component to economic growth, so we are hoping to be able to work closely with all the economic development councils to build the workforce they need for their local economies.”

Midlothian had at least 22,000 residents in 2015, with more than 90 percent of them having at least a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 70 percent of the civilian labor force is 16 and older, according to the census bureau. The city’s median household income was $74,881 as of 2015, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

TSTC in Waco Hosts Students for FFA Tractor Competition

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College’s Diesel Equipment Technology program hosted on Wednesday a Texas FFA Association Tractor Technician Career Development Event involving seven high school teams from North and Central Texas.

In the Texas FFA Association’s Area 5, Weatherford High School placed first, Denton High School came in second and Aledo High School placed third. Weatherford and Aledo high schools are in Parker County.

Academy High School in Bell County won first place for the association’s Area 8. Frost High School in Navarro County placed second, Teague High School in Freestone County came in third and Ferris High School in Ellis County placed fourth.

The top three teams from each area will compete in a state FFA tractor competition in March at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Teams of three students took a written test, did a parts identification test and troubleshot John Deere and Kubota tractors donated for the competition by Brazos Valley Equipment and Tipton International, both in Waco. Students drove the tractors once the teams found and fixed the problems.

TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program instructors and students created the problems the high school students found in the tractors and served as contest judges.

John Bufford, 21, a TSTC Diesel Equipment Technology – Off-Highway Specialization major from Cleburne scheduled to graduate in May, said he enjoyed working with the high school students.

“It’s a pretty fun event,” Bufford said. “I was surprised the students came in and started the tractors up.”

John Goebel, a TSTC Diesel Equipment Technology instructor and event organizer, said he wanted the high school students to learn about tractor models and consider the technical college in their academic future. He said several current DET students were in FFA in high school.

TSTC offers Diesel Equipment Technology at the Waco, Fort Bend County, Marshall, North Texas and Sweetwater campuses.

TSTC Leads Excel Training at Norbord

(MARSHALL) – Norbord employees in Jefferson are taking advantage of a component of Texas State Technical College: workforce development.

Twelve employees attended two trainings in late January and early February to learn basic Excel at the company’s training center. Future trainings are planned for the computer spreadsheet program developed by Microsoft.

“We wanted to use Excel more efficiently to give us better understanding of data to support the business,” said David Golden, human resources manager at the Norbord Jefferson plant.

The course was taught by Carolyn O’Neill, an instructor in the Professional Office Technology program at TSTC. She taught company employees how to create spreadsheets, enter text and numbers, format cells, spell check, print and create charts.

“Excel is used in every business I have ever had contact with, from large to small,” O’Neill said. “It is a software application that many people do not know, so having knowledge of how to use it can be a big plus when applying for a job. Excel has the ability to do many mathematical functions. With the ability to add charts, it is also a very good visual aid when trying to show complex data.”

This is the first time the company and the technical college have partnered on training. The training came about after company leaders did a skills assessment of workers.

Norbord is based in Toronto, Canada, and is a global manufacturer of wood-based panels, particleboard, oriented strand board and medium-density fiberboard. The company has 2,600 employees at 17 plants in Canada, Europe and the United States. The Jefferson plant has 110 employees, some of whom are TSTC graduates working as millwrights and electricians.

TSTC to Train Workers at Two Waco Companies with State Grant

(WACO) – Leaders from Texas State Technical College and the Texas Workforce Commission announced Tuesday afternoon the awarding of a $333,554 Skills Development Fund grant for the college to train 175 production, installation, mechanical and maintenance workers at two Waco companies, Englander dZignPak and Capstone Mechanical.

Englander dZignPak on Texas Central Parkway celebrates 50 years in Waco in April and specializes in signage, retail displays and packaging. Capstone Mechanical on Imperial Drive specializes in commercial contracting, engineering and service for plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning throughout Central Texas.

“Thank you for being part of a prosperous and evolving community,” said Texas Workforce Commissioner Representing the Public Andres Alcantar, who presented the check. “We need to work together to find solutions to succeed. Thank you for doing business in Texas.”

TSTC Provost Adam Hutchison said the grant represents the technical college’s mission — to grow the Texas workforce and connect local businesses to higher education. TSTC will conduct the training with the two companies.

Training grants enable workers to use their paychecks to make a difference in their communities, Hutchison said.

“This is real dollars being put back into our community,” he said.

Hal Whitaker, Englander dZignPak’s president and chief executive officer, said the grant ties in with the company’s strategic goals of improving employee safety and health.

Rick Tullis, president of Capstone Mechanical, leads more than 200 employees, some of whom are TSTC graduates. He said the company’s focus has always been to build and invest in people’s skills.

TWC’s Skills Development Fund was created in 1996 and has assisted more than 4,200 Texas employers to train more than 340,000 workers. In fiscal year 2016, more than $510,000 was used to fund 43 grants to serve 98 businesses.

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