TSTC expands its training opportunities for area companies

(HUTTO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Workforce Training and Continuing Education department is expanding its offerings for companies in Williamson County.

Nine employees from TASUS Texas Corp. and R&D Molders Inc., both plastics fabrication companies in Georgetown, are taking a 12-week maintenance technician course at the Hutto campus.

Angie Reyes, human resources and safety manager at R&D Molders, said for employees to be able to acquire advanced knowledge means that their earning potential and career prospects can increase.

“The program partly focuses on the latest advancement in machinery, automation and technology specific to blow molding and plastic injection, ensuring that current industry professionals can enhance their skills and stay up to date with evolving trends,” Reyes said.

Bonifacio Velasquez III, an instructor in TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program, taught the training participants AC/DC electrical systems and pneumatic systems. He said the teaching was a good change for him.

“I was able to draw from my past experience, and it made teaching the classes that much more enjoyable,” he said. “I told them not to worry and assured them they would get all the instructions needed to succeed. They simply have to put forth the effort.”

For the first time, the Workforce Training and Continuing Education department is working with Tesla to conduct a tool-and-die apprenticeship for employees to take classes in Precision Machining Technology and Welding Technology on Fridays on campus. The training has 11 Tesla manufacturing employees, with nine additional workers expected to begin taking classes in the spring, said Corina Zepeda, the department’s director of industry relations at the East Williamson County campus.

“This apprenticeship is of paramount importance due to the increasingly rare and specialized nature of the tool-and-die skill set,” said Tyler Morgan-Rhea, a Tesla recruiter. “Equipping the next generation with these skills is critical for ensuring the sustained success of the automotive industry.”

Zepeda said offering the training sessions has created ways to work with TSTC staff who handle student learning, faculty scheduling and lab space availability.

“It has been great,” she said. “We have been able to navigate within our own campus and meet the needs of employers in what they want to do with their specialized scheduling requests. It is very encouraging.”

The Workforce Training and Continuing Education department has more trainings scheduled on campus. The 40-hour IPC J-STD-001 Soldering Certification course will begin Monday, Nov. 13. The department will offer OSHA 10 certification at the end of November. Registration information can be found on the Facebook page for the East Williamson County Higher Education Center.

For more information on TSTC’s Workforce Training and Continuing Education department, go to tstc.edu/workforcetraining/.