Embrace lifelong learning

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Embrace Lifelong Learning

Finding Professional Development Journeys Within the Community

Story by Dalondo Moultrie

Every 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, particularly 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 them prosper, Jenke said.

“CMC does tons of training,” said Jason Dinscore, CMC area manager for quality systems. “We do a lot of in-house training. Most of everything we do is in-house.”

The on-the-job training consists of anything from technical skill improvement to leadership training to developing employees for next-level positions, he said.

CMC isn’t alone, said Mike Stoller, head of communications at Vitesco Technologies North America.

“We’re doing a lot to try to hire folks in the area and be a good corporate citizen to attract folks to the area,” he said. Vitesco Technologies’ Seguin plant in the coming months will celebrate 50 years in operation, said Eric Garza-Colvin, head of human relations at the plant. That longevity shows a clear commitment to the community, he said. Focusing on providing employees careers opposed to just jobs locally is another hallmark of the tier-one automotive supplier’s quest.

All employees have access to what the company calls its Total Productive Maintenance Program, Garza-Colvin said.

“We require every single employee to go through the foundations of this training so they start using their brains with their hands. They’re able to work on equipment, work on what’s going on in a plant so then they’re more effective employees of the company,” he said. “We have steps to this where they get more advancement opportunities. Those who reach the top level can go through a two-year associates program through Alamo Community Colleges.”

Vitesco offers other initiatives and programs to help current employees excel, Garza-Colvin said. The company and the local plant try to create a pipeline for local talent to funnel into the organization.

Partnering with other local entities is one way to help ensure everyone has access to talent and locals have access to upwardly-mobile employment opportunities, Garza-Colvin said.

Others are working to help in the fight as well, said Ashlynn Tovar, business retention specialist at the Seguin Economic Development Corporation.

Local and area entities are working to bring Texas Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (TX FAME) to town, she said.

TX FAME is a partnership of regional manufacturers whose purpose is to implement dual-track, apprenticeship-style training to create a pipeline of highly skilled workers, Tovar said.

“The purpose of TX FAME is to be the catalyst for developing world-class technical talent for manufacturing,” she said. “TX FAME strives to be a conduit between industry and training providers with a primary focus on meeting the needs of manufacturers.”

The Seguin EDC and economic development and manufacturing stakeholders from Guadalupe and Comal counties are working on the project to develop at Lone Star Chapter, Tovar said.

Before it’s all over, the chapter will allow people to earn an associate of applied science in advanced manufacturing technology degree through a technical college while working for one of the partnering companies.

“In this two-year, Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship, individuals attend class two days a week and spend the remaining three at their sponsoring company,” Tovar said. “Individuals must both apply and be accepted to the supporting education partner and a TX FAME Lone Star Chapter company for a duration of the program.”

Participating companies will be able to either send current employees through the program or bring on external candidates, she said. Each individual benefits by learning while simultaneously advancing their education and building their resume.

It’s a win-win situation for the companies and the people they employ, Dinscore said. Giving back to the community and developing the people are important to CMC, he said.

“We wouldn’t have the business we have without good people,” Dinscore said. “It’s all built on people. Without good people, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are.

“We want to invest in the people and do the best for them.”