San Jacinto College’s Edge Center will play a vital role in strengthening the Bay Area’s aerospace industry presence, according to local leaders in education.
The center, located at the Houston Spaceport, offers programs for aerospace structure technicians, aerospace electrical technicians, composite technicians, industrial automation technicians and aerospace quality technicians, as well as a drone program to prepare students for Federal Aviation Administration certifications. SJC is the official education training partner for the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport.
Programming does not follow a typical semester-based grading schedule, and some courses can be completed in as little as two months, SJC’s Workforce Development Dean Ken Tidwell told attendees at a meeting of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership’s education and workforce development committee on Nov. 18. The education students receive is competency-based, he said; it targets industry-identified skills, including drone flight and drone building.
The center will hopefully offer two- or four-year programming in the future, and leaders are in the process of obtaining more industry-specific accreditations such as a CertTEC assessment center designation, Tidwell said.
