A skilled manufacturing workforce is the lifeblood of industry and economic growth.
Tyler Junior College is one of 27 colleges nationwide — and only two Texas institutions — selected to a consortium committed to creating innovative, bold solutions to strengthen the manufacturing industry and set it up for success into the future.
TJC has joined SME (formerly the Society of Mechanical Engineers) for the Manufacturing Imperative — Workforce Pipeline Challenge. This three-year initiative aims to address the manufacturing industry’s workforce shortage by attracting 1,000 individuals annually at each of the participating community and technical colleges, resulting in 75,000 or more qualified workers in pursuit of manufacturing careers. The economic impact of growing the industry’s workforce is an estimated $6 billion nationally.
During the recent kickoff event at TJC West in Tyler, officials from TJC and SME met with area industry leaders to lay out plans for the initiative and gather input on their specific needs in creating and maintaining a skilled workforce.
“We are one of 27 community colleges across the nation who were chosen for this consortium, and we are very honored to be a part of it,” said Dr. Deana Sheppard, TJC provost and vice president for academic and student affairs. “This is going to broaden what we already do, and we’re very excited about that.”
Dr. Deb Volzer, SME’s government and workforce partnerships director, leads the workforce pipeline initiative.
“When I joined SME two years ago, I was asked, ‘If you could do one thing, what would you do?’ And I said we need to tap into our community colleges because we’re missing the workforce engine of our nation,” Volzer said. “We’re not doing enough to really support them, bring them together and share best practices. There are great community colleges out there doing great things for their communities, but they’re not scaling it and putting it into place where we can do it on a national scale. So, I said let’s get 25 institutions, bring them together and fundamentally change workforce development of the future.”
TJC President and CEO Dr. Juan E. Mejia speaks during the SME Manufacturing Imperative — Workforce Pipeline Challenge kickoff event held recently at TJC West in Tyler.
According to SME data, Volzer said 8 million students ages 18 to 25 are not entering college after high school. Added to an aging workforce nearing retirement, the need for skilled workers is stronger than an ever.
“Right now, there are about 600,000 jobs going unfilled in manufacturing,” she said. “Most of our small/medium companies are working at about a 75-percent capacity. But here’s the good news: We know that there are millions of people out there who are likely raising their hand that they want additional education and training.
“That is the whole impetus behind why we want to tap into the best of the best community colleges across our nation, bring them together, come up with the best solutions, test some technologies and best practices, and then scale that nationally. And with that, I say congratulations on being one of those institutions that are a part of this.”
Area industry leaders were encouraged and energized by the TJC event and its prospects for workforce growth.
Steve Yancy, human resources manager at Tyler Pipe & Coupling, said, “As most of our industrial team knows, a lot of our skilled trades people are getting to the point of retirement, and we’ve got to figure out who is going to fill those spots. TJC has done a great job of helping us with internships and apprenticeships, but some the areas that we’re needing help in are going to be conventional machining. For example: How do we convince a kid in high school that you can make a really good living as a machinist? So, it is a challenge but it’s also a great opportunity.”
Dr. Kristen Walls, executive director of the Tyler ISD Career & Technology Center, with Link Worthen, TJC industrial maintenance technology professor/program coordinator.
Scott Martinez, president/CEO of the Tyler Economic Development Council, said, “I think it’s certainly going to help me as we endeavor to bring more jobs and opportunities to Tyler and Smith County. The two most important things I show a company when they come to town are to see the [business] site and then they want to come to this building [the Energy Center at TJC West]. This wins projects for this community. Having the ability to train and have a pipeline of workers makes us much more successful. We can’t operate without what TJC does, and I think this initiative will greatly enhance that capacity. When companies come to town, they rarely ask about tax rate. They want to know where their workers are going to come from and if there’s going to be a pipeline that will give them the ability to grow. And things like this will certainly enhance that.”
“Workforce development creates economic development, which creates social mobility,” TJC President and CEO Dr. Juan E. Mejia said. “Lives are being changed forever because we are in the business of transforming lives for our community. When we do that, we get regional prosperity and a better quality of life for everyone.”