Alvin and Pearland ISDs are expanding their workforce training and career and technical education curriculum and facilities to provide students with specific skill sets prior to college or technical careers.
The districts’ CTE programs are intended not only to address the growing demand for skilled workers in the construction, petrochemical and health care fields, but also provide an avenue to technical colleges.
“I think the old idea [that either] you go [to a university] or the [workforce] is outdated, and that is [our] thought process,” said Toby Nix, PISD director of CTE. “We are truly focusing on high skill levels, and we are filling needs in our Gulf Coast region.”
Both school districts, as well as Friendswood ISD, also offer dual-degree programs, which provide students a path to graduate from high school with an associate degree in addition to a diploma.
FISD partners with the College of the Mainland to provide students with dual-credit courses that allow students to jump-start their college or technical careers.
Kevin Morris, dean of business and technology at SJC, said PISD’s dual-degree program offers a cost-efficient method for students to enter the workforce immediately after graduating.
“The more [ways] you can make yourself marketable after you graduate [from] high school to any employer at any time, the better off you’ll be,” he said.
Expanding technical training
AISD is seeking to expand its technical education programs by constructing a $45.32 million CTE center at the former site of Manvel Junior High School as part of its upcoming $245 million bond package.
If the bond referendum is approved by voters Nov. 3, the district will provide additional technical training programs at the new center, such as veterinarian technician, dentistry and culinary arts.
Kathy Windsor, AISD executive director of CTE, said the new facility is expected to assist the district in addressing the labor needs of every job market in the Gulf Coast region and the Greater Houston area.
“If we can get the kids a certification where they can walk out of our doors and into a career, that is an awesome route for some students,” she said. “We are putting more of an emphasis on these programs because I think we are trying to meet the needs of every student.”
Windsor said the growing popularity of the district’s CTE programs, paired with the passage of House
Bill 5 by the Legislature in 2013, has created a process for AISD to reach more students and advance them in certain career paths before graduating.
The 83rd Texas Legislature approved HB 5, which made substantial changes to the state’s curriculum and graduation requirements. The changes have given districts more flexibility to offer students different technical courses to pursue in high school.
“[HB 5] definitely started the big thinking and started the big push to get these kids some kind of workforce training so they can go out into the workforce and start earning [a] decent living,” Windsor said. “Not every student has in mind a four-year college degree. There are some students [who] want to go straight into the workforce as a welder or auto technician.”
Higher education options
While there is an increase in the number of high school students graduating with certificates in various trades, the number of students graduating with an associate degree is also on the rise.
PISD began expanding its CTE and higher education opportunities in 2013 with the opening of Turner College and Career High School. Nix said the school allows students across PISD to take various dual-credit courses in order to get a jump-start on their careers.
“Opening up Turner [High School] has been a huge boost in course offerings for our students,” Nix said. “We have expanded the number of certification [classes] that our students can take.”
PISD partners with ACC and SJC to provide advanced training and education to students seeking technical certificates and their associate degree. AISD also partners with ACC to allow students pursuing a four-year degree to get ahead on their career paths.
ACC President Christal Albrecht said these programs have resulted in more students joining the region’s workforce immediately after high school.
“There are those students who complete the full two years, [and] there are many, many students who have earned one full year [of credits],” she said. “They are so ahead of the game.”
Meeting a need
The Greater Houston area has been experiencing a skilled labor shortage since 2009, according to the Greater Houston Partnership, an organization focused on the economic growth of the area.
Although the labor shortage is expected to continue into 2016, many high school students in the region graduating with dual degrees and CTE certificates are helping to alleviate the problem, said Peter Beard, GHP senior vice president for regional workforce.
“There are many folks in our regional economy that need to go immediately into the workforce after graduating [from high school],” he said. “The nice thing about our system today is there are more choices for individuals so that they can choose the path that makes the most sense for them,” he said.
Morris said advances in construction, medical and petrochemical technology have created a demand for skilled workers to maintain the new equipment. As the baby-boomer generation continues to age within the workforce, Morris said the CTE and dual-credit programs offered at area school districts are providing Houston-based companies with skilled workers trained on advanced equipment.
“We have exciting and gigantic entities striving for all of these different workers and skill sets,” he said. “We have so many different demands [for] skilled workers [in Houston]. It’s [an] awfully good problem to have.”
