Arlanxeo partners with Lamar State College-Orange for Job-Training Grant

Published 8:38 am Saturday, July 1, 2017

By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

Lamar State College – Orange (LSC-O) is benefiting from a partnership with Arlanxeo and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The partnership will be beneficial to the United States a s a whole and specifically Orange, according to Dr. Gwen Whitehead, vice president of academic affairs at LSC-O.

Arlanxeo has partnered with LSC-O to provide job training using a $469,914 Skills Development Fund grant from the TWC. The grant will benefit workers in the Southeast Texas area.

“The partnership between Arlanxeo and Lamar State College-Orange on this Skills Development Fund grant will benefit both the local community and its workforce,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez. “Our labor force is among the most talented and skilled in the world, and we continue to seek and implement strategies to improve the skills of Texas workers.”

Alveraz said the grant is a competitive grant which is also putting people back to work or to work for the first time.

“This would not be possible without the support of your representatives and senators,” Alvarez said.

The grant will bring a $1.4 million impact on the community as individuals are able to work.

“This grant and the partnership of Arlanxeo and Lamar State College benefits the state two-fold – offering advanced training to Texans and providing Texas industries with skilled employers,” State Rep. Dade Phelan said.

This grant will be used to provide customized training to 219 new and incumbent workers for industry-related topics with focused instruction on manufacturing skills. Trainees will include chemical, industrial and mechanical engineers, production supervisors and superintendents. Upon completion of training, the workers will receive an average wage of $46.89.

According to the 60×30 report dated September 2016, by 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills. The marketable skills goal emphasizes the value of higher education in the workforce. Students need to be aware of the marketable skills embedded in their academic programs, and institutions must make certain that students graduate with marketable skills. This goal charges two- and four-year public institutions in Texas to document, update, and communicate the skills students acquire in their programs. Private institutions of higher education in Texas may opt to participate in this goal. The marketable skills goal does not diminish one of the missions of higher education, to produce well-rounded and well-informed individuals. Rather, it focuses on helping students gain marketable skills in their coursework that they can articulate to employers after graduation. Although the specifics of how progress toward this goal are still being determined, the goal is measured by determining the number of institutions who have reported marketable skills and have subsequently updated those skills. A target that looks at the number of graduates found working or enrolled within a year of completing their postsecondary credential also provides context related to this goal.

The 60x30TX plan calls for at least 60 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds in Texas to hold a higher education degree or certificate by 2030.

Since its inception in 1996, the Skills Development Fund grants have created or upgraded more than 342,428 jobs throughout Texas. The grants have assisted 4,238 employers with their customized training needs. The Legislature allocated $48.5 million to the Skills Development Fund for the 2016-17 biennium. Employers seeking more information about the Skills Development Fund may visit the TWC website at www.texasworkforce.org/skills.