AVOIDING
Local career and technology programs aim to keep students from leaving
In years past, towns such as Taylor and Hutto could count on losing high school students as they graduated and left home to chase better opportunities and higherpaying jobs elsewhere.
Today, however, with the industrial boom in Williamson County and the increase in manufacturing and service jobs, that is no longer the case, local experts said.
Now, the two cities are facing challenges in supplying enough qualified workers for the businesses, high-tech and otherwise, that are locating in the area, such as Samsung Austin Semiconductor.
Local institutions stepping up to offer careers aligned with future advanced-systems employment include Temple College, the University of Texas, local school districts and even the employers themselves.
Schools and municipalities are also partnering to offer skills training for local government jobs that require state licenses, ranging from law enforcement to wastewater treatment.
TEMPLECOLLEGE, UT,TAYLORISD
“I came to Temple College in 2021 and I was specifically charged with growing the industrial programs and building a workforce pipeline, so it’s been a couple of years that we’ve been preparing,” said Dede Griffith, vice president of workforce development at the college. “The news of (Samsung) coming was really what solidified which programs needed to be prepared.”
Griffith noted while the college has had a campus in Taylor for 26 years, academic courses remained the primary focus. Today, the school also offers a variety of shorterterm training as well, intended to give students industry certifications so they can quickly enter a specialized job field.
“We’re creating a system where there’s an opportunity for young individuals, and even those who are not so young, to get training and have first crack at those high-demand, high-wage fields instead of companies bringing in talent to meet those demands,” Griffith said. “So there’s really kind of an urgency for us to make sure we have the right programs developed and then develop that system of training from (kindergarten through 12th grade) all the way through to our graduates and regular citizens.”
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office announced Temple College was receiving a $9.8 million state grant for semiconductorrelated industry training, including integrated robotics and semiconductor water reclamation.
Samsung, which announced in November 2021 it was opening its second Austin-area site in Taylor, is expected to start operations next year and could employ about 1,800 full-time workers.
“A lot of these programs that really make a semiconductor ecosystem will be included. Highly technical programs. Very doable for our students, even to start as early as ninth grade,” Griffith said.
While it may seem like a chicken-andegg scenario, Griffith said the ability to do the training has to exist even before the need for it. She said that Temple College can put together a custom industrial training program within a month if a new industry is eyeing the area, and they can later expand the training from being a certification program to becoming an accredited degree program if needed.
Meanwhile, internships offered by Samsung to the Taylor Independent School District also are yielding results, officials said.
During a recent “State of the District” address to the Greater Taylor Chamber of Commerce, Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen lauded the partnership, adding the initiative provides crucial training for Taylor ISD pupils.
The 2-year-old program takes 24 students each summer and trains them at the Taylor and Austin sites in skills related to the semiconductor industry. Some students may decide later to pursue full-time employment with the company.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, it has become harder for any business to keep and retain skilled talent. Ensuring the availability of qualified workers is a time-consuming and expensive process for large industries like manufacturing.
In small towns, the workforce is limited by the population as well as resources for training, so many companies want to ensure there is an adequate personnel pool before they move to a city.
In 2024, the Temple College at Taylor Foundation donated a 68-acre tract of land near Samsung to the University of Texas at Austin. UT-Austin announced last May that it was considering using the site for training and research in the semiconductor field through its Texas Institute for Electronics initiative.
The university is working with Temple College and the Taylor community, as well as semiconductor industry leaders, to determine which programs would best fit the new University of Texas at Austin-Taylor Center.
Analysts said the campus is expected to
add to the quality of the local workforce and draw top students to the area.
HUTTOLOOKSAHEAD
In Hutto, workforce training is also moving to the next level.
“There are some industries that won’t even consider your community if you don’t have the ability to deliver a trained workforce,” said Hutto City Manager James Earp. “We were talking to one economic development prospect and that was basically in their requirements. Communities they were going to be talking to had to be able to (offer a trained workforce) and if you weren’t able to do that, you weren’t even at the table.”
Earp said Hutto relies on a collaborative effort to ensure it can offer the manpower industries are looking for. Officials have worked with the Hutto Independent School District, Temple College and Texas State Technical College to ensure there is a pathway to develop workers for potential new industries.
In one case, city leaders also worked with UT-Austin and Texas State University in Round Rock.
“We looked at what pathways could we generate in the high school curricula, what type of work experience could be generated as early as high school and in the technical colleges, because they are able to closely customize their programs that they offer based off the needs of the workforce and the industry,” Earp said.
James Gazzale, a spokesman for Hutto ISD, said input like that from Earp is an important part of the district’s Career and Technical Education program.
“We do an analysis of the local job market, local industry market and try to mirror that with the programs we are offering for CTE so we can provide a pathway for students to get the education, get the certifications and then enter that local workforce directly,” Gazzelle said. “So you see that pathway through Hutto ISD straight into the local community.”
Earp said the city and the school district are now in discussions about adding the type of training that could lead to jobs in city departments such as public works or law enforcement.
“We have people who are licensed to deal with water, people who are licensed to deal with wastewater, people who are licensed for herbicide application, people who will go into the academy and become police officers,” Earp said. “There’s these specific certifications and licenses that are state licenses that we’re in the process of talking to the school district about building into their curricula for outcomes for students.”
The city would partner with the district so that high school students could get hands-on experience and be able to test for their entry certifications. And while Hutto may only have a handful of openings for these jobs each year, neighboring cities and utility companies are also likely employers.
“The barrier to entry for those jobs is relatively low in the grand scheme of things. Like, if we were to hire someone off the street they’d just have to be age 18 or older with a valid driver’s license and be able to get those licenses or certifications,” Earp added. “So if we can start them their junior or senior year, and have them get their licenses, then once they’re 18 they would be eligible for employment.”
CTEPROGRAMS
A Texas Workforce Commission report published in March shows the Texas labor market achieved new record highs for jobs and for the labor force. The state added 187,700 jobs from January 2024 to January 2025.
With more people reaching retirement age, the workforce is poised on the edge of a potential skills gap that could affect every industry, analysts warn. Bringing more young adults out of high school ready to step into the workforce is increasingly more important. This year, the Legislature is considering two bills that could help fund workforce development.
House Joint Resolution 5 would appropriate $850 million to establish permanent funds for the Texas State Technical College System. It would provide a dedicated source of funding for capital projects and equipment purchases related to educational programs. This would directly relate to building the talent pool of skilled-trades professionals to support Texas manufacturers.
The resolution is slated to be on the Nov. 4 ballot for a public vote.
House Bill 20 would bring the rest of Texas online with much of what Temple College and the local school districts are doing. It would establish the Applied Sciences Pathways Program to provide opportunities for students to earn high school diplomas and industry-based certificates from institutions of higher education in industries such as plumbing, welding and heavy equipment. Students will be able to use these certificate programs to obtain credits toward a high school diploma.
“We really want to bridge the gap between education and the workforce. We want to make sure the students are equipped with certain skills and industry certifications, hands-on experience that really helps take what they’re learning in the classroom and make it relevant. We want them to be prepared for what life looks like after high school,” said Andrew Haub, a CTE specialist and teacher at Hutto High School.
Haub helped start the Hutto ISD robotics program 13 years ago. Since then, the district has expanded the program to every campus starting in elementary school. In March, a Hutto Middle School robotics team qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championship competition being held in May.
“There’s always a bit of skepticism around how we can expect students to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life, but that’s not really what we’re doing. We’re just asking the kids to find a place to start,” Haub said. “With the CTE courses here, students choosing to go to college or trade school or directly into the workforce get to learn more about what the different opportunities are about and they get to do it in a low-risk environment in high school versus when they’re paying for college or trade school.”
As an added bonus for employers, studies show that workers who have social and economic ties to the community have a higher retention rate. That means hiring workers who grew up in the area results in less employee turnover.
Businesses can count on workers who increase their skills and experience through longevity with the company.
It also adds stability to the community, according to Earp, and helps small towns retain the friendliness and charm that make them desirable for raising families.
“I think it’s a better structure when you have opportunities for people to be able to work inside their community. For me, community is so much about people knowing their neighbors and you get that when there’s stability in your community,” he said. “Having opportunities and having places for people to live creates a community people care about and don’t want to leave.”
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