Texas Border Business
By Amanda Sotelo
Apprenticeships – “Earn While You Learn,” was the topic of discussion during the 3rd annual South Texas College Workforce Summit, recently hosted during National Apprenticeship Week.
The half-day event, attended by regional and statewide leaders in workforce development, focused on apprenticeships and its national and state economic development impact, funding, partnerships, economic mobility and regional prosperity.
STC is a national leader in apprenticeships with 15 successful programs registered through the U.S. Department of Labor, such as the nation’s first Registered Nursing Apprenticeship, Construction Superintendent, Professional Brewer and Veterinary Technician.
“Our apprenticeship programs are so successful because of our partners.
We appreciate everyone who believes in our mission and in what we do to transform our communities through bold initiatives like apprenticeships,” said STC President Ricardo J. Solis, Ph.D. “At STC, we are proactive to the needs of the industry. We are building new alliances and growing our U.S/Mexico border partnerships to meet the demands of commerce and introduce new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), so we continue to influence jobs and our economy and improve lives.”
Setting the stage for a discussion on apprenticeships, Kenyatta Lovett, Ph.D., principal, Education Strategy Group, emphasized the work the state is doing in promoting the value of community colleges, like STC, and how their credit and noncredit programs are impacting global economies.
“STC is center cut in terms of where training and pathways are going and how they are aligned for the next 15 years,” said Lovett. “STC is breaking barriers in matriculating students from noncredit to credit programs. We are acknowledging the value of attainment these noncredit, or short-term programs, give to our students, employers and communities.”
Lovett went on to explain House Bill 8 and how it will impact community colleges across Texas regarding funding.
“Texas has moved to an outcome-based funding model, meaning importance is now placed on retention and the number of students completing programs to receive industry recognized credentials, certificates and degrees,” he added. “What is great about STC, is that it’s already doing this, and the values of these credentials are moving Texas forward. We are revising the nomenclature for non-degree courses and noncredit programs.”
To put into perspective how well STC’s apprenticeship programs are doing in the Rio Grande Valley among students and employers, the event also hosted a panel of speakers from varying college partners such as PMSI Project Management Services, Central Air and Heating, Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valley and DHR Health.
“Through STC’s apprenticeship program we have been able to connect the dots for our employees,” said DHR Health Chief Information Security Officer Orlando Gomez. “We have nine specialists who focus on improving their skills, but sometimes they don’t see the connection and how it helps our patients, but through this apprenticeship, we’ve been able to open their eyes on our business, and our business is patients. This partnership has enlightened them on how their work impacts everything within our hospitals and how they contribute to overall patient care.”
What makes STC’s apprenticeship programs unique is that they are registered through the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We must break the myth that apprenticeships are in conflict with higher education. We are higher education,” said U.S. Department of Labor Regional Director Dudley Light. “Apprenticeships are growing the American workforce. Through these programs we will be stronger as a nation and as a state because we are providing effective training that works. We need to embrace apprenticeships as a career program that is making people more employable, more successful and building our middle class. Thank you STC for hosting this valuable event and for being a leader in this arena.”
STC was the first college in the nation that Dudley signed as a registered nursing apprenticeship site.
There has been more than $42 million allocated to apprenticeships, according to Texas Workforce Commission State Apprenticeship Director Desi Holmes, and more than 12,000 apprenticeships have been supported with this funding.
“In 2016, there were only 200 apprenticeship programs in Texas, since then the growth has been exponential,” said Holmes. “We are now at 945 registered apprenticeships with 35,500 active participants. Texas is second in the nation, so we have a big job ahead of us to be No. 1, but with partners like STC, we are well on our way.”
Carlos Margo, dean of Industry Training and Economic Development within the Center for Advanced Training and Apprenticeships, said STC’s goal is to expand its registered apprenticeship programs.
“Apprenticeships reach so many areas of industry, from manufacturing, construction to health care and teaching, and through events like our Workforce Summit, we increase our partnerships through an understanding of the program,” said Margo. “We can’t do this alone, so I’m grateful to everyone who plays a role in helping us succeed, so our students succeed.”
For more information on STC’s registered apprenticeship programs, visit https://www.southtexascollege.edu/cata/.
