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Embrace
Lifelong learning Finding Professional development journeys within the community Story by Dalondo Moultrie
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very year, Seguin and the high schools in and around the city churn out exceptional talent to be unleashed onto the world. Those graduates have a world in front of them and choices to make. It behooves manufacturing companies, other businesses and community leaders to try to cultivate that talent and keep it local, said Chester Jenke, president of the Seguin Area Chamber of Commerce. “One of the things I got from the late Phil Seidenberger, a great mentor of mine always said, ‘What if we train them and they leave?’” he said. “He always used to answer that with, ‘What if we don’t train them and they stay’. A lot of those manufacturers, that’s their thought process today.” Jenke sees employers in and around Seguin taking steps to make the community better. They look to hire locally. From there, they invest in employees and provide opportunities to grow, Jenke said, partic10 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING
ularly in the manufacturing sector. “I think there are two ways to look at this,” he said. “One is that those business partners we have out there in the manufacturing world can grow their own. That culture is something they’re used to already.” Already, some companies hire young folks right out of high school that have some of what he calls soft skills. They show up for work on time, are good workers, remain reliable and are courteous to clients. Employers are wise to take those people and use them to help grow their businesses while also helping the employees grow. He loves to hear of companies taking five- or 10-year employees, putting them through classes and helping them move up the corporate ladder, the chamber president said. CMC Steel has a model where the company recruits high school students, pays them good wages and then helps
