DMC Hosts Texas Workforce Commission’s Local JET Grant Check Ceremony for 12 Coastal Bend Recipient
TWC awards 17 grants supporting CTE programs at area ISDs and one at Coastal Bend College; DMC serving as training partner for nine of the ISDs awarded grants
Article by Melinda Eddleman
Building and maintaining a well-trained workforce and competitive economy is a priority for Texas. And, for the public community, state and technical colleges, independent school districts and charter schools, receiving a Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Grant from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is one of the best ways to establish career and technical education (CTE) programs to prepare students for high-demand occupations identified by the state that support that priority.
Today, May 17, Del Mar College hosted a ceremony for the TWC with Chairman and Commissioner Representing the Public Bryan Daniel presenting oversized checks exemplifying the funding provided by the Texas Legislature to local grantees, including 11 area independent school districts (ISDs) and Coastal Bend College. Overall, the TWC awarded 17 JET Grants totaling nearly $7.8 million to support equipment and training among the recipients’ CTE programs.
These grants create pipelines between school districts and higher education training partners that put our students on the path to in-demand, well-paying careers, and the educational partnerships created by these JET Grants are propelling career and technical education training at area schools to a new level. They place at students’ fingertips the expert instructors and advanced equipment they need to be career-ready in fields that are hiring and pay well in the Coastal Bend.
Keas noted that students can begin their training as early as their freshmen year and gain industry-recognized credentials, certificates, licensures or associate’s degrees and be on the road to employment.
This happens because kids in school today are, frankly, what we’re waiting on to get into jobs tomorrow; and it doesn’t happen overnight. Fifty-six percent of Texas jobs require middle skill CTE training, and 92 percent require some kind of training after high school. But, all the state’s high-demand jobs require critical training in high school, so we need to help our students get their credentials while they’re in school.
Daniel added that schools need the upgrades in tools that meet the technology that employers use as part of students’ CTE training, which is a large part of the support the JET Grant provides to recipients.
Before introducing Daniel, Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend President and Chief Executive Officer Ken Treviño remarked that the Chairman’s leadership has “bridged the gap between workforce and economic development, and we know that workforce development plus economic development equals community development and prosperity.”
Treviño noted that the Coastal Bend region received 15% of the JET Grant allocations this year, which are extremely competitive with our area going up against 27 other regions across the state.
Del Mar College serves as a career training partner to nine of the 11 ISDs that received JET Grants, including Aransas Pass, Rockport-Fulton (formerly Aransas County), Brooks County, Corpus Christi, Gregory-Portland, Skidmore-Tynan, Tuloso-Midway, West Oso and Woodsboro. Combined, these ISDs received 13 grants amounting to $$6,989,635. DMC’s CTE training among these districts ranges from maritime, medical assistant and nursing to physician assistant, radiologic technician and welding and will impact 1,380 Coastal Bend high school students as they prepare for the area’s workforce.
Other training partners the TWC recognized were Victoria College, which partners with Bloomington ISD for chef training, and Lamar Institute of Technology, which also partners with Brooks County ISD for HVAC installation training. Coastal Bend College provides career training in nursing for Alice ISD but also received a JET Grant supporting their own nursing program. The four JET Grants awarded among these educational institutions totals$797,056 and will impact 362 students overall.
To read Gov. Greg Abbott’s May 17 announcement regarding the JET Grants awarded to the Coastal Bend area, visit gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-announces-over-7.7-million-in-career-training-grants-to-coastal-bend-schools.
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.