(RED OAK, Texas) – Leaders from Texas State Technical College’s North Texas campus and Dallas-based Compass Datacenters announced a new training partnership on Friday, May 16.
The MEI (Mechanical, Electrical and Information) Technology Data Center Pathway Program is scheduled to begin with a 12-member cohort in July at TSTC’s North Texas campus in Red Oak. The program is geared toward high school graduates and people interested in a career change throughout Ellis County. Compass Datacenters has locations on Austin Boulevard and Houston School Road in Red Oak.
Compass Datacenters will provide scholarships to the first cohort, which can take classes during a six-week or 12-week period, totaling 235 hours of lab and classroom time.
“The word that keeps coming to mind is partnership,” said Marcus Balch, provost of TSTC’s North Texas campus. “I am just really excited about this opportunity moving forward for people who live here in Red Oak, live here in Ellis County, to be able to commute a couple of minutes up the road and have a rewarding opportunity here.”
Balch said the workforce training students might later be motivated to pursue a certificate of completion or an associate degree at TSTC.
“This can propel you into this industry and give you opportunities to move forward with these companies in the area,” he said.
John Knight, assistant director of economic development for the Red Oak Economic Development Corp., said data centers are making a $13 billion investment in the city.
“This is a game changer for our city, our residents and our county,” he said.
Brenda Sanford, superintendent of the Red Oak Independent School District, said not every high school student is on a pathway to a four-year degree.
“Embracing the other opportunities is massive,” she said. “If we did not have partners, there is no way we could embrace trade. There is no way we could embrace the pathways.”
Sanford said there are many career opportunities at data centers. Some of the fields she mentioned included electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and plumbing.
“As the demand for the skilled workers increases, which we know it does, we have to change what we do on a high school and public school side,” she said.
Adil Attlassy, Compass Datacenters’ chief technology officer, said the artificial intelligence field has no limits from a global perspective.
“You start in trade school, you hone your skills,” he said. “There is nothing more powerful in knowing how your systems work.”
Attlassy called AI another industrial revolution.
“AI is going to take a lot of the mundane, repetitive jobs and automate them and have us focus on high skills to keep creativity and business opportunities,” he said.
For more information on Compass Datacenters, go to compassdatacenters.com.
For more information on the training program, go to tstc.edu/datacenters.