Local investment in CTE pathways primes grads to fuel success for local companies

Career & Technical Education strengthens local workforce, enhances Kilgore as a prime destination for companies |

“Just because you’re starting right out of high school, just because you don’t have the means immediately, doesn’t mean the industry won’t offer you a path.”

Kilgore EDC Board Member Tyler Esters graduated from Henderson High School in 2011, made his way through higher education at UT Tyler and Texas A&M then returned. He’s now plant manager for Closure Systems International on Energy Drive, leading a team that produces 30 million closures per day at 1.2 million an hour, 20,000 every minute.

That’s 10 billion closures produced every year in Kilgore, Texas, and it takes skilled workers ready to make their careers here.

Esters says he’s gratified to see Kilgore High School, Kilgore College and others putting more and more emphasis on technical programs and workforce development through Career & Technical Education.

Working with Texas State Technical College along with Kilgore College, CSI is reaping the benefits of a healthy pool of local, younger, workforce-ready employees.

With a strong CTE mix here, “I think it’s great for industry,” Esters said. At CSI, “Our skill sets are very vast – from packing and moving boxes all the way to technical engineering skill sets.

“We’ll hire people directly out of high school. Our goal is to start them out and get them used to what industry and manufacturing look like.”

Three recent hires immediately come to mind, employees who signed on with CSI directly out of high school.

“They are advancing faster even than people with experience because they’re hungry. We can build on that. We can work with that,” he said. “There’s a lot of electrical classes out there, a lot of robotics – we have eight different robots here at this plant. It’s beneficial and it’s the way that the world’s going.

“I’m very fortunate to have been given opportunities since I’ve been in the workplace to continue to grow. That’s what I want people that we employ to see.”

 

• All KHS Programs of Study align with high-wage, high-growth, high-demand occupations based on current labor market data.
• 49.2% of KHS students are CTE completers, compared to a 33.5% state average – well above the norm and a key priority for continued growth.

 

CTE is critical for workforce development, says Kilgore High School CTE Director Misty Lewis.

“I think it’s the amount of opportunities we have now,” she said, a vast array. “We’ve added so many things for CTE that did not used to be there.

“We did not have Marketing. Health Science is not something we had 3 years ago.”

Welding has increased exponentially in recent years, Lewis added, while Education & Training is still new for the school.

“It’s a mentality of ‘Grow your own,’ and we’re able to hire them back.”

Construction was woodshop in its former life, and the small projects and handiwork have evolved into students crafting storage buildings and picnic tables as well as pitching in on home-builds with organizations like Kilgore’s Fuller Center for Housing, a nonprofit initiative that assists low-income families with housing.

“I love that community connection piece that teaches our students what they should be doing as adults,” Lewis said, “doing something for themselves and doing it for somebody else.”

They’re pitching in across the district as well, whether it’s making picnic tables for campuses or benches for locker rooms.

“Just watching that collaboration there is really neat. Our kids love that, too.”

That’s been junior Josh Thomas’ focus in high school. After learning the safety necessities and honing his skills on a variety of power tools, Thomas is already putting his Architecture/Construction pathway to work in the real world.

Beyond partnering with his dad on projects at home, “I’ve done some construction work outside of school and outside the house,” he said. “Once you take the course, you actually do the work.”

He has about 13 shed projects under his toolbelt, odd jobs from family, friends and new clients, too.

At the moment, he’s looking toward a stint in the military post-high school. He aims to use his construction skills sooner and later, too.

“If I want money, I’ve got to be fast and efficient to do a good job,” he said. “If you don’t go out there and do it, if you just let it sit there, you’re not going to get anything done. When I’m in my senior year I’ll be working out in the field making money by doing projects.”

 

Participation in Kilgore High School’s Welding concentration has increased exponentially.

Per Lewis, the district’s hand-on pathway is churning out broad-skilled workers with a competitive edge, in school and beyond.

KHS Senior  Alynna Cervantes dove into welding competition last year when she really locked into the skill with a passion. She’s gotten her initial certification and finished in the Top 10 students in the state, competing against 200 others.

In addition to tackling underwater welding challenges, “This year I’ve gotten certified in Level 2 and I’m going to state for that in May.”

According to Kilgore College Workforce Dual Credit Counselor Brian Kasper, “The ultimate end of this is we’re putting kids in the workforce early.”

That’s all in coordination with state officials as well as local employers.

“ISDs’ CTE programs, they’re supposed to have an advisory committee that’s made up of business and industry partners,” he explained. “You get input from your business and industry people, they come in and tell you what they need.”

There’s a particular call for ‘soft skills,’ which are already integrated into the various pathways at Kilgore High School.

“I think in terms of supporting our workforce, they’ve done a good job of setting us up and allowing us to do what we need to do for the kids.”

On the soft skills side, Cervantes says her KHS pathway has included time spent on building resumes as well as interview practice.

“Sometimes you won’t get the job,” she added. “That’s OK. You have to keep trying and keep persisting.”

She’s been persisting since choosing Welding ahead of her freshman year.

“I wanted to do something on my own, something different that no one in my family had ever done,” Cervantes said. “It was the second semester of my sophomore year when I really started to see some progress,” trying her hand at stick welding, MIG welding, flux core welding.

“I’m able to build grills, smokers, firepits. I’m able to fix things on cars for my family. I loved to see my progress. I like to be proud of myself whenever I’m done welding.”

 

The stronger Kilgore’s workforce foundation, the more companies will want to build on it, investing in this community long-term.

“When we have the local talent to fill those jobs, our region and our community is more attractive for companies who are looking to relocate,” says Lisa Denton, executive director for Kilgore Economic Development Corporation. “For existing industries, I think that they know and can be confident that we will continue to supply their expansion needs with the future talent they need to grow, which keeps them investing here at home.”

A skilled, strong workforce also helps insulate Kilgore when companies have to make a decision as they consolidate. Kilgore’s a solid choice for keeping deep roots.

“There are so many consolidations happening today. When we’re able to supply that talent on an ongoing basis it helps to keep us insulated from that,” Denton said. “When companies are able to continue to grow where they already have stable roots, it’s a protection so they can be efficient and profitable right here at home.

“Also, from a company’s standpoint, it lowers their costs and reduces turnover to be able to have that local talent right here, coming out of our area schools – out of high school programs and out of our local colleges and universities that are here in this area.”

As former Kilgore Mayor Bill Wilson used to say, ‘Quality of life starts with a good job.’

“Having the quality schools, the ISDs and higher education that are investing in our future talent and preparing them for high-paying jobs right here at home immediately improves their quality of life.”

 

From local data, the majority of the workers of Kilgore, Gregg County and the surrounding 12 counties – 70 percent – do not have a four-year degree. More than 40 percent don’t have any post-secondary education.

CTE isn’t pointing students away from college, but it’s definitely preparing for entry into the workforce. That includes equipping them with the foundational skills employees need for their benefit and their employers’

 

“Something we hear all the time from businesses is this generation needs to work on their soft skills,” Lewis allowed. “That’s something that’s a unit in our CTE program.”

 

Students are learning how to interview – what to wear, how to prepare a resume.

“We’re doing that all the time, continuously in our classes,” she said, in addition to an upcoming skills workshop Feb. 24. “Hopefully, we’re starting to put more of an emphasis on that and listen to our businesses who are telling us this is what they need. We’re helping our students understand how important that is.”

The teens are also getting real world workforce exposure through programs like Bulldog Business Backers.

“Every single program of study we partner with the chamber,” Lewis said, and Kilgore Area Chamber of Commerce arranges business professionals to interface directly with the juniors and seniors. “The kids are asking all sorts of questions. That has been a really incredible program and a really incredible connection to our workforce.

“It teaches our kids to look at the opportunities they have in our area. That was the goal from its inception, to show our students what is available here in East Texas and to talk to somebody who works here.”

That’s where Cervantes is looking. She’s already fielding offers from local operations, some as an assistant, some as a welder.

Cervantes is taking her time, honing her skills at KHS and KC while considering her options with an aim to dive into the local workforce once she completes her Associates at Kilgore College.

“I see the overall picture of CTE as an opportunity you can’t miss,” the award-winning KHS welder says. “It’ll give everyone the chance to experience what they want to. They’ll know if that’s exactly what they want to do or they can change it.

“I love the opportunities it’s given me – to learn something hands-on. This is something I wouldn’t be able to learn on paper.”