Sugar Land - Missouri City Edition | April 2024

Education

BY ASIA ARMOUR & KELLY SCHAFLER

TSTC to expand auto technician offerings Texas State Technical College broke ground on a roughly $54 million expansion in late Novem- ber to bring the 80-acre Transportation Center of Excellence to its Rosenberg campus, college officials said. The college offers technical career training to the Houston region from its 160-acre campus. The context When the new center opens in fall 2025, it will allow the vocational college to grow its diesel equipment technology program and add two new programs—automotive technology as well as auto collision and management technology, TSTC Communication Specialist Isaac Dayley said. The expansion is driven by the college’s growing enrollment and the workforce demands in the region shown by labor market studies, campus Provost Bryan Bowling said. In the automotive

WCJC will add health building to Richmond Wharton County Junior College has an over 100,000-square-foot facility for the health care professions at its Richmond campus on the horizon, officials said. The college is in the planning stages of a two- or three-story health professions building meant to cater to students vying for licenses in vocational nursing or emergency medical service training, which began at the Richmond campus this spring, President Betty McCrohan said. What’s next She said she anticipates construction will take up to two years once groundbreaking commences, and she is eyeing a 2026-27 opening. The increased health care pro- gramming coincides with opening the new building, McCrohan said.

TSTC student enrollment growth TSTC’s enrollment is rising, and the new building will allow the college to accept 400-500 more students when it opens in fall 2025. Spring enrollment

703

474

442

521

464

399

2019 2020 2021

2022 2023 2024

SOURCE: TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE/COMMUNITY IMPACT

industry specifically, this demand is caused by an aging workforce retiring and a larger need for electric vehicle technicians, he said. “We do what basically makes our graduates irresistible for our industry partners,” he said.

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