AC receives TWC grant for $331,268 at ceremony Wednesday

Amarillo College has received a $331,268 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission that AC leaders say will significantly enhance the college's welding program.

TWC Commissioner Alberto Treviño III was on hand Wednesday morning to present the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant at a ceremony attended by state and local officials, as well as school staff, at AC’s Innovation Outpost.

The JET grant will support career and technical education training programs by helping the college purchase and install equipment to initially train 80 students as welders, according to a news release from the Office of Gov. Greg Abbott stated.

“With more Texans working than ever before, it is critical that we continue to invest in our workforce,” Abbott said in the release. “This job training grant to Amarillo College will provide young Texans in the Panhandle with the skills they need to thrive in our state’s booming economy. Thanks to the hard work of the Texas Workforce Commission and schools across our great state, we will build a bigger, better economic future for every Texan.”

AC said the grant will boost the welding program particularly through the acquisition of virtual reality training technology. David Hall, dean of technical education, said the demand for professional welders is expected to surge in the decade ahead, and the technology will enable AC to train more students and more efficiently.

“The high-quality virtual reality trainers now on the market allow students to watch demonstrations of proper welding techniques, to practice machine set-up and welding processes, to take virtual bend tests, and to receive visual and audible feedback before they ever step into the welding lab,” Hall said. “In our proposed virtual welding lab, students will develop muscle memory through multiple repetitions without wasting valuable consumable material such as gas and metal. Muscle memory is a critical component in the mastery of a variety of welding skills.”

AC said the JET Grant also will enable the college to acquire additional live welders and cutting equipment, almost doubling existing welding lab capacity and increasing class-size capacity.

“JET grants are an important tool to help train our workforce for the state’s future economic needs,” said TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel. “With this grant, Amarillo College students will receive welding training on state-of-the-art equipment to prepare them for long-term careers in high-demand occupations in Texas.”

Through funding provided by the Texas Legislature each biennium, TWC uses JET grants to defray start-up costs to develop career and technical education programs for public community, state and technical colleges, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools. Equipment funded through JET grants must be used to train students for jobs in high-demand occupations.

AC said that according to labor market projections from the TWC and Lightcast, an authority on labor market analytics, 22 percent more welders will be needed in the Panhandle by 2030, which equates to about 96 new jobs annually.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo College receives $331K TWC grant to enhance welding program