(WACO) – Crown Equipment Corp. is making it enticing for Texas State Technical College’s Diesel Equipment Technology majors to work for them.

The Ohio-based company specializing in forklift parts and production is offering tuition reimbursement for TSTC’s DET certificate and associate degree graduates from the Fort Bend County, Marshall, North Texas, Sweetwater and Waco campuses who are hired as technicians. The tuition plan started earlier this year.

“Every candidate (in the past) we have brought on board has been excellent,” said Joe Razza, a Crown regional recruiter for Louisiana and Texas based in Arlington.

The new hires will have five weeks of training, and after six months they will begin receiving extra money each pay period that can be put toward student loans, Razza said. The amount the company will reimburse is capped at $10,000.

“Getting tuition reimbursement from companies like Crown helps students get off to a solid start,” said Henry Macik, TSTC’s statewide chair for Diesel Equipment Technology. “Instead of worrying about paying off student loans, they can buy tools and invest in their future.”

Crown Equipment Corp. has four Crown Lift Trucks locations in Arlington, Houston, San Antonio and Waco. Razza said there is a push to hire more personnel at its locations in Texas and nationwide.

Kacey Darnell, TSTC’s executive director of Talent Management and Career Services, said students learn about the tuition reimbursement if they express interest in Crown. Razza also tells students about it when he visits TSTC campuses.

“Joe is an auto mechanic by trade and knows what it’s like to be a student,” Darnell said.

Razza said after several visits to TSTC’s campuses, he saw the value in the hands-on education that Diesel Equipment Technology students are receiving. He spoke to staff in Crown’s corporate office and the reimbursement plan was quickly approved.

“We have had a better success rate with TSTC because of the additional training students receive,” Razza said. “TSTC is also willing to train students with workshops in professionalism and soft skills.”

For more information on Crown Equipment Corp., go to crown.com.

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