Department of Labor awards San Jacinto College $12 million grant
PASADENA, Texas — The Department of Labor has awarded San Jacinto College a $12 million federal grant to partner with other public and private sector entities to train at least 5,000 workers in information technology fields.
Second only to California, Texas had more than 960,000 IT employees in 2017. To ensure that the Texas workforce develops and maintains the skills needed for these jobs, four Texas community colleges and industry leaders have partnered on the Texas is IT apprenticeship project, or TXIT.
"The goals of this grant program include accelerating the expansion of apprenticeships to new industry sectors, promoting the large-scale expansion of apprenticeships across the nation, and increasing the apprenticeship opportunities for all Americans," said Dr. Sarah Janes, associate vice chancellor for continuing and professional development and grant lead. "We are excited to be partnering with Alamo Colleges, Austin Community College, and the Dallas Community College District on this project."
Together with national industry partners IBM Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation's IT-Related Occupations, Rackspace, Cerner Corporation, and Cisco Systems, the four Texas community colleges intend to train 5,000 apprentices and pre-apprentices over 48 months. The Texas Workforce Commission and the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards will also assist with this grant, with additional support from the American Association of Community Colleges and the Houston-Galveston Area Council.
Since 2010, IT employers nationwide have added 1.5 million new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an additional 557,100 new information technology jobs with a growth of 13% nationally. This grant will support IT apprenticeships in Texas before scaling nationwide, with participants who are unemployed, underemployed, or incumbent workers of partner employers.
"I was elated to learn that San Jacinto College was being awarded a $12 million grant to train thousands of new workers in IT fields," said Rep. Brian Babin, TX-36. "These funds will help to establish new jobs and opportunities for the great people in Southeast Texas as well as the rest of the nation. No area could benefit more from this project than the 36th Congressional District of Texas, which is home to more petrochemical plants and refineries than any other region in the nation."
About San Jacinto College
Surrounded by monuments of history, industries, and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, since 1961. The College is fiscally sound, holding bond ratings of AA and Aa2 by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. San Jacinto College is a 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Top 10 institution, a 2017 Aspen Prize Rising Star Award recipient, and an Achieving the Dream Leader College. The College serves approximately 45,000 credit and non-credit students annually, and offers eight areas of study that put students on a path to transfer to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. San Jacinto College's impact on the region totals $1.3 billion in added income, which supports 13,044 jobs.
For more information about San Jacinto College call 281-998-6150, visit sanjac.edu or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
