Gov. Abbott announces $7.7M in career training grants for Coastal Bend education

KRIS 6 News
By: Sophia Englehart
Posted at 4:52 PM, May 17, 2023 
and last updated 4:34 PM, May 17, 2023

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A multi-million dollar grant effort is being put toward the education of trade school students in the Coastal Bend.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a release that $7.7 million of Jobs and Education for Texansgrants were awarded to 12 Coastal Bend educational institutions by the Texas Workforce Commission on Tuesday.

The 17 JET grants will support career and technical education training programs by helping the schools purchase and install equipment to train initially more than 1,700 students for high-demand occupations.

“The State of Texas continues to be able to provide the resources and training needed for our highly skilled, diverse workforce to excel and support our state’s booming economy thanks to grants like these,” Abbott said in the release. “I thank the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas' strong educational institutions for working together to ensure Texas students are set for success with thriving careers in high-demand industries. The future of Texas remains bright because of today’s talented students.”

TWC Chairman Daniel presented the awards at a ceremony attended by state and local officials, school staff, and CTE students at Del Mar College’s Oso Creek Campus.

The 17 JET grants include:

• Alice Independent School District (ISD): $216,716 to purchase and install equipment to initially train 126 students as nurses, with additional students to be trained in the future in partnership with Coastal Bend College
• Aransas Pass ISD: $705,255 to purchase and install equipment to train an initial 99 physician assistants and $712,500 for equipment to train an initial 52 students in welding professions, in partnership with Del Mar College
• Aransas County ISD: $657,089 to train an initial 88 students as pilots of water vessels in partnership with Del Mar College
• Bloomington ISD: $54,806 to initially train 30 students as chefs in partnership with Victoria College
• Brooks County ISD: $712,500 for equipment to train an initial 126 students in welding in partnership with Del Mar College, $301,406 for equipment to train an initial 126 students in nursing in partnership with Del Mar College and $192,182 for equipment to train an initial 126 students in HVAC installation in partnership with Lamar Institute of Technology.
• Coastal Bend College: a $333,352 grant for equipment to train an initial 80 students in nursing
• Corpus Christi ISD: a $389,253 grant for equipment to train an initial 65 students as pilots of water vessels in partnership with Del Mar College
• Gregory-Portland ISD: a $164,554 grant for equipment to train an initial 100 students in welding in partnership with Del Mar College
• Skidmore-Tynan ISD: a $509,101 grant for equipment to train an initial 65 students in welding in partnership with Del Mar College.
• Tuloso-Midway ISD: $712,500 for equipment to train an initial 225 students as medical assistants in partnership with Del Mar College and $687,738 for equipment to train an initial 152 students in welding in partnership with Del Mar College
• West Oso ISD: a $90,108 grant for equipment to train an initial 130 students as radiologic technicians in partnership with Del Mar College
• Woodsboro ISD: $682,237 for equipment to train an initial 76 students as medical assistants in partnership with Del Mar College and $665,394 for equipment to train an initial 76 students in welding in partnership with Del Mar College

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

“Career and technical education programs supported through JET grants provide students with the skilled training they need for in-demand jobs while learning to use the same types of equipment they will find on the job,” TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel said in the release. “This is an exciting day for Texas and Coastal Bend communities as we celebrate their success and future opportunities.”