Adults invited to learn how to earn a degree in manufacturing

Informational event to be held tonight

Cindy Aguirre-Herrera

(Guadalupe County) – If you are looking to secure a degree in the manufacturing industry then tonight’s information session at the Central Texas Technology Center might just be the place in which to start.

The Texas State Technical College (TSTC) and the TX FAME Lone Star Chapter announce a preview event at the chapter’s FAME Technical Center located inside of the technology facility located in northern Guadalupe County.

This event will serve as an informational session and tour for all individuals and their families who are interested in a career in advanced manufacturing and are available to begin courses in August 2023.

Texas Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (TX FAME) is a partnership of regional manufacturers whose purpose is to implement dualtrack, apprenticeship-style training that will create a pipeline of highly skilled workers. Industry leaders say the purpose of TX FAME is to be catalyst for developing world-class technical talent for manufacturing. They say that TX FAME strives to be a conduit between industry and training providers with a primary focus on meeting the needs of manufacturers.

Chapter President Jason Dinscore says TX FAME Lone Star Chapter (LSC) students have the opportunity to earn a degree with little or no debt and gain experience that starts their future off on the right foot.

“This hands-on, paid experience is ideal for all. Women, military veterans, incumbent manufacturing technicians, graduating seniors -- the sky’s the limit,” said Dinscore.

TX FAME Lone Star Chapter participants attend classes two days a week and work at a sponsoring manufacturer for a competitive wage and a minimum of 24 hours each week.

This work-and-learn format gives students the opportunity to immediately apply what they learn on campus in a real-world setting at work. Students who complete the five-semester Advanced Manufacturing Technician program receive an Associate of Applied Science degree and often graduate with zero studentloan debt.

The program also addresses common workplace behavior issues that may frustrate employers by incorporating critical personal skills into the curriculum. Behaviors including attendance, communication, diligence, teamwork, interpersonal relations, and initiative are emphasized both in the classroom and at the workplace.

With the practical skills gained during their paid work experience, TX FAME LSC graduates frequently take full-time positions with their sponsoring companies. Graduates can also continue their education toward bachelor’s degrees in engineering.

TX FAME Lone Star is currently accepting applications for its first cohort launching in fall 2023. The application is available online at www. lonestarfame.com. To be considered for the program, an applicant must have a high school diploma or GED and meet minimum requirements on standardized tests in English, math and reading.

Among the companies that students in the program can work for are Alamo Industrial (Seguin, Texas), Caterpillar Inc. (Seguin and Schertz, Texas), Cavco Industries (Seguin, Texas), CMC Steel Texas (Seguin, Texas), Continental (New Braunfels, Texas), Detex Corp. (New Braunfels, Texas), Minigrip (Seguin, Texas), Hexcel (Seguin, Texas), H-E-B (San Antonio, Texas), Republic Plastics (Seguin, Texas), Texas Tito’s (New Braunfels, Texas) and Vitesco Technologies (Seguin, Texas).

TSTC is a coeducational two-year institution of higher education offering courses of study in technical vocational education for which there is demand within the state of Texas.

The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) network is employer-led chapters sponsoring students through a work/learn model over five semesters in conjunction with a college partner.

The informational night will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Texas Technology Center located at 2189 FM 758 New Braunfels TSTC recruiters will be on-site to assist anyone wanting to begin their application.

Active, continued.

“This has just been a wonderful partnership between Seguin ISD and the Believe It Foundation as well as Kinetic Kids. This is just a wonderful opportunity for the kids to come out and showcase their skills and to be introduced to our new round of adaptive bikes from the Believe It Foundation,” said Nolen.

She says not only was the day planned with no limits but was a priceless opportunity for those witnessing the fun along the sidelines.

“This is a get active day. Kinetic Kids has come out here and set up four sport based skilled stations. We’ve got football. We’ve got baseball. We’ve got soccer and we’ve got track and field and then our fifth station is the adaptive bikes from the Believe It Foundation and so with that partnership between Kinetic Kids and the Believe It Foundation, we are just having a great time,” said Nolen.

A place where everyone can play is exactly what made local mom Laura Schmidt excited for her children. Schmidt says it was great to watch both of her children from Rodriguez Elementary School be engaged in activities that are not always possible for her family.

“I think they need to do this actually more often. These kids don’t get a lot of activity, so they don’t have good muscle tone. So, this is getting them out there, getting their muscle tone together. They are learning to be with other children, which is a big issue with Autism. They have a lot of anxiety, and my kids are very excited to see some of their friends that they haven’t seen in a while so I think we should do this way more often. I’m glad it’s back,” said Schmidt.

Hoping to make the event a tradition from here on out is Kelly Follis, the Seguin ISD director of community outreach and executive director for the Seguin Education Foundation. Follis says it didn’t take long for her office to learn that the Matador Get Active Day was exactly what the community wanted.

“The community was quick to respond. I just sent out a little email talking about some programs that we have coming up in the district and I got immediate response on this event because I think people really see the need and they want to let children with special needs enjoy the same kind of things that other students get to enjoy on a routine basis,” said Follis.

The support for the event, however, did not stop with a check. Follis says some of the supporters also joined the students on the field.

“Parker Lumber is a major sponsor as is Angel Pest Control. We have volunteers from Parker out here. We have a volunteer from Riverside ER in New Braunfels. Kona Ice is coming out later and that’s partially sponsored by those other sponsors but also by Kona Ice themselves. People really just want to help. It’s a beautiful day and I just think our kids are going to have a great benefit from this and our community wants to be a part,” said Follis.

District officials say it’s been years since an event like this for special needs students has been held. Years ago, students competed in what was called the Matador Special Olympics at Texas Lutheran University’s Bulldog Stadium. This event, however, was not a competition but more of a fun day and opportunity to take part in sports related activities.