In these instances, the students pursued associate degrees, alternative college programs and industry certifications that offer Texans the chance to expand their career options and their salary potential in a state hungry for more qualified workers.

Grounded aircraft sit inside the Maintenance Hanger where students learn to fix mechanical issues at the Texas State Technical College in Waco on Oct. 24, 2022.

Grounded aircraft sit inside Texas State Technical College’s Maintenance Hanger in Waco, where students learn to fix mechanical issues on Oct. 24, 2022. Credit: Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

Technical colleges and careers

Justin Meckle, a fourth-semester Robotics student at the Texas State Technical College in Waco, works on a troubleshooting assignment during class on Oct. 24, 2022.
at the Texas State Technical College in Waco on Oct. 24, 2022.
Jule Preiser, a fourth-semester Robotics student at the Texas State Technical College in Waco, works on a troubleshooting assignment during class on Oct. 24, 2022. Students were given no specific instruction - much like how you might be given a problem if out in the field - and tasked with finding a solution through their own problem solving skills.
From left: Dalton Mayo, a fourth-semester Robotics student at the Texas State Technical College in Waco, stands with his father, Corey Mayo, who serves as the Lead Instructor for Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology inside their classroom on Oct. 24, 2022. Mayo decided to pursue a technical career path like his father.
A flight instructor speaks about the benefit of having the Redbird flight simulations for students at the Texas State Technical College in Waco on Oct. 24, 2022.
Students training to become pilots sit in class and watch a video about navigating runway terminology at the Texas State Technical College in Waco on Oct. 24, 2022.
The interior of a Redbird flight simulation at the Texas State Technical College in Waco on Oct. 24, 2022. Students training to become pilots are able to practice in the program without having to leave the ground.
Elaine Polster, a recent graduate of the pilot program and incoming Certified Flight Instructor, stands inside the Maintenance Hanger where students learn to fix mechanical issues on grounded aircraft at the Texas State Technical College in Waco on Oct. 24, 2022.

Apprenticeships

Mallory French examines the results of an EKG that she performed at Austin Community College’s Leander Campus on Oct. 4. French and other students were participating in a healthcare apprenticeship program for Baylor Scott & White employees.
Jennifer Waldron, a Continuing Education instructor at Austin Community College, shows students where to put the electrodes when doing an EKG at ACC’s Leander campus on Oct. 4. The students were participating in a healthcare apprenticeship program for Baylor Scott & White employees.
Mallory French connects a lead wire to an electrode on Violet Fields’ left leg while doing an EKG at Austin Community College’s Leander Campus on Oct. 4. The students were participating in a healthcare apprenticeship program for Baylor Scott & White employees.
Nora Hernandez-Mondragon measures 21-year-old Violet Fields’ blood pressure during class at the Leander Campus of Austin Community College on Oct. 4. The students were participating in a healthcare apprenticeship program for Baylor Scott & White employees.

Workforce training programs

22-year-old Sydney Hodge, right, demonstrates how to use a gait belt, an assistive device used to transfer a person into or out of a wheelchair, on her teacher and E4 Youth program manager Joe Tate in the Biomedical Engineering building at UT Austin on Nov. 29, 2022. The students were part of a workforce development program at UT Austin called E4 Texas, an inclusive job training program open to students with developmental disabilities.
24-year-old Elaina Bautista volunteers at AGE of Central Texas in Austin, Texas on December 2, 2022. Bautista was part of a workforce development program at UT Austin called E4 Texas, an inclusive job training program open to students with developmental disabilities.

College for students with developmental disabilities

Effrosyni Chatzistogianni, an academic graduate assistant with the Aggie ACHIEVE program helps Matthew Philips, a junior in the program, during an office hours at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022. Aggie ACHIEVE is a comprehensive transition program (CTP) for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who have exited high school.
Students walk to class on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022.
A list of available course to students in the Aggie ACHIEVE program at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022. Students take one non-credit course per semester, as well as a Physical Education non-credit course, while they pursue their certificate.
Julia Gault, a junior in the Aggie ACHIEVE program, talks with another student during office hours at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022.

This article was written by MARÍA MÉNDEZ of The Texas Tribune.  The Texas Tribune— and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.  This article originally appeared at: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/27/texas-career-technical-education/