Businesses Team with Texas State Technical College
Published Mar 18, 2008
Full-time student Cooper Mitchell works on a project in the welding lab at Texas State Technical College West Texas.
Many of the region’s largest employers are partnering with Texas State Technical College West Texas at Brownwood to ensure that workers have the customized training they need to be successful on the job.
It’s a partnership that’s paying dividends for employers such as 3M, says Danny Perry, plant-site contract coordinator for 3M Brownwood. The plant manufactures reflective products that enhance traffic safety, including materials that make license plates and road signs more visible.
3M benefits from having a better-trained workforce, while employees benefit from new economic opportunities, says Perry.
“It’s enabled us to have more temporary employees to meet seasonal demand. Often, temporary jobs lead to full-time permanent employment. It’s really a gateway to full-time employment,” he says.
3M relies on TSTC to provide safety training for its temporary workers at the Brownwood facility, which encompasses close to 1 million square feet of space and has 600 employees, says Perry.
“Thanks to TSTC’s program, we are one of the safest plants in our entire company,” he says.
Employers rely on the program for training tailored to meet their particular needs. Previously, 3M partnered with TSTC to provide computer-training classes.
“They did a great job, and our relationship stretched out from there,” says Perry, who praises the flexibility of the TSTC Corporate College training programs.
That is the mission of the TSTC Corporate College, says Dixon Bailey, vice president of TSTC Corporate College, which provides the training.
TSTC West Texas encompasses four locations – Brownwood, Abilene, Breckenridge and Sweetwater.
The two-year technical college contributes to the educational and economic development of the state by providing quality, occupationally oriented programs emphasizing specialized and emerging technical areas.
Participating companies include Kohler Co., 3M Brownwood, M&F Gauge and Specialty Co. Inc., Superior Essex, Loadcraft, and Wind Clean Corp.
“The partnerships have allowed TSTC to create customized training programs targeted to the specific skills needed to perform area jobs,” says Bailey.
For example, in partnership with the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation, the Texas Workforce Commission and area companies, TSTC Corporate College is developing a Fast Track Welding program to meet an urgent demand for welders. There is a 100 percent placement rate among welding graduates.
“We are committed to assisting businesses of all sizes to provide our partners with a lifetime of learning opportunities and support,” says Bailey.
Story by Bill Lewis
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