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Goal 2: Develop a workforce
A qualified workforce is a resource that businesses look for when considering a community, according to the Greater Waco Economic Development Plan.
By enhancing the education, training and workforce development programs of the public school systems, higher education institutions and other available resources, Greater Waco can provide a workforce to meet the needs of companies wanting to relocate or expand here.
Here are few examples:
Waco Independent School District works closely with Texas State Technical College Waco and L-3 Communications Integrated Systems for its Aviation Career Education program.
ACE is geared toward helping students get an edge before they take off into the post-graduation "real world."
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Qualified students take related courses their freshman and sophomore years of high school and then apply for a half-day course program at TSTC during their junior and senior years. The students can apply for the ACE program when they graduate from high school.
When these students graduate from high school, they will have four introductory-level courses at TSTC under their belt. They take three more semesters successfully at TSTC, and L-3, a leader in the modernization and maintenance of military and commercial aircraft, steps in and reimburses them for their out-of-pocket expenses and pays up front for their next two semesters.
Upon graduation, students who choose the maintenance path will receive their aviation maintenance certification from TSTC and can test for their airframe and power plant license through the Federal Aviation Administration.
The graduates are required to work for L-3 for two years, if positions are available, in return for the company's investment in their education.
While L-3 and TSTC have partnered for years to provide training to L-3 Waco employees, the ACE program is a way to grow a workforce at the grassroots level.
We look at what the Chamber says are its focus industries and that's exactly why we started the aviation program this year. We feel like it's our responsibility to serve not only the students but the students' development for this community. We try to be proactive in our curriculum development in terms of meeting those needs.
Kay Metz
Waco ISD director of development and community partnerships |
Waco ISD also works closely with McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College programs in the middle and high schools complement those in place at the higher level.
Waco ISD fifth grade students can participate in job shadowing through the Adopt-A-School program. Many Waco Chamber businesses participate in this effort.
Students submit applications, interview for jobs and are partnered with a professional in the community at a participating business.
Waco High also offers an automotive program and graphics arts and design program. Waco High, University High and A.J. Moore offer construction science.
All three schools also offer a multimedia business program. Students at University High have choices in health careers and the "Ready, Set, Teach" program, which is offered to students in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. If they return to Waco ISD after college to teach, they are guaranteed a position in the high-needs areas of science and math.
Waco ISD's efforts have not gone unnoticed by the State of Texas either. The A.J. Moore Academy, a magnet school, is one of the first schools in the state to benefit from a college readiness effort by the Texas High School Project.
An announcement was made in December 2005 that the program will invest $200,000 at the school to launch Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (T-STEM) academy aimed at helping economically disadvantaged students gain the skills needed to pursue a career in science-based fields.
The A.J. Moore Business Advisory Board is comprised of business, education and community leaders who provide students with real world work experiences and support the school through special committees.
A.J. Moore, which has 715 students and will graduate its fifth class in May 2006, offers four programs for students who want to take a closer look at a particular career path. The "schools within the school" are the Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Finance, the Academy of Information Technology and the Academy of Environmental Technology.
The community passed a $74.4 million bond for McLennan Community College last fall. The school's enrollment has experienced an average six percent growth rate annually since it began in 1967.
The school plans to use the bond money to double its health sciences graduates and meet enrollment demand.
Two-thirds of the nurses and more than 85 percent of the radiological technologists and physical therapists employed at Providence Healthcare Network and Hillcrest Health System were trained at MCC.
Texas State Technical College Waco offers extensive training in aviation, health and dental care, mechanics, audio visual and the gamut of technical career paths.
TSTC's Corporate College will asses the training needs of industry clients, develop training plans, define job descriptions and provide training taught by industry-experienced faculty.
Baylor University offers 74 master's degree programs, 22 doctoral degree programs, four new professional development programs, a juris doctorate program and master of divinity and doctor of ministry program.
Baylor students work in the business community as interns and part-time employees. Many Baylor students choose to make Waco their home upon graduation.
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