TEXARKANA, Texas -- Texas-side higher education institutions such as Texarkana College and Texas A&M University-Texarkana have seen large enrollment upticks in their workforce programs over the last couple of years due to hands-on experience and hireability, local educators say.
At a recent board meeting, TC Director of Workforce Education Shawna Lynch-Watkins reported that TC's workforce dual credit programs had seen a 59% increase in enrollment since 2018. Enrollment jumped from 205 students in fall 2020 to 325 in fall 2021.
Shelley Caraway, executive director of extended education and community development, said TAMU-T has seen a 250% increase in online workforce training enrollment since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
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Lynch-Watkins said the program's successes can largely be attributed to the partnership the college has with local businesses, who outline the requirements and preferences of their employees, giving TC a curriculum blueprint to develop in their workforce classes.
"The industry partners that we have here in the community have been very substantial in providing us with information regarding requirements they have for hiring purposes," Lynch-Watkins said. "We take that information we receive from the industry partners, and we recruit to our high school juniors and seniors, and advise them what our industry partners are looking for, what potential salaries are and what they need to do to be able to obtain the certification so they can go work for them."
Carway said she has noticed a huge spike in online workforce training courses at TAMU-T because of the flexibility provided.
"People are still just really looking for online classes," she said. "We're not out of the woods yet with the pandemic, and adults are looking for something that will work with their lifestyle. They're looking for something that they can do after they get their kids fed or that they work on on a Sunday afternoon."
TC has seen the biggest enrollment jump in its welding, HVAC and electrical programs.
"Students come and are excited about the opportunity to work for certain companies once they have completed our certifications," Lynch-Watkins said. "They're getting hands-on experience, so that when they go into the workforce they are prepared."
TAMU-T offers Occupational Safety and Health Administration authorized and entry-level training courses, as well as computer-science based courses.
Caraway said that while many Texarkana citizens may not think of A&M-Texarkana when they think of workforce training, they offer many certification and training programs that can lead to early employment.
"People don't think about our university for workforce training, but it's definitely a very viable option," she said.
Lynch-Watkins said having more workforce-certified students is a good thing overall for the Texarkana community.
"It's a cycle," she said. "It takes all of us to come together to prepare our students and help our industries, which in turn, helps our community as a whole. It's very beneficial."