ROSENBERG – Anyone can dream up an idea, but it takes manufacturing to bring that dream to life.
“Without manufacturing, nothing gets made,” said Matt Sykora, a representative for Haas Automation.
Such a crucial facet of the economy requires highly trained workers, which Texas State Technical College (TSTC) works to provide with its Precision Machining Technology program.
During the fall 2021 semester, the Gene Haas Foundation gave a total of $80,000 through The TSTC Foundation to support six of TSTC’s campuses across the state. Campuses in East Williamson County, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Marshall and North Texas each received $12,000. TSTC’s campus in Waco received $20,000.
All six campuses offer an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology (PMT) and a certificate of completion in Machining.
Sykora, a TSTC graduate himself, presented the gift at TSTC’s North Texas campus.
“My degree has afforded me a life that really was beyond what I dreamed of,” he said. “Over the years, Haas has entrusted TSTC with millions of dollars that’s allowed students to be taught on state-of-the-art equipment. It’s actually something I find a lot of joy in doing.”
Educational grants like the gift from the Gene Haas Foundation aim to close the skills gap between the growing number of jobs that require skilled technicians and not enough workers to fill them – a mission the college shares.
“Manufacturing is key to our survival as it supports so many industries,” said Aaron Hayes, a representative of Haas Factory Outlet in Buda. “The reason we have always led the nation in innovation is our support of engineering and manufacturing programs with continued education to further this field. We hope that the money will be put to good use for students to advance the machining industry.”
With that level of support and involvement from industry partners, TSTC will continue to fulfill its mission: training Texans for goodpaying careers.
“We hear over and over again how impressed our industry partners are with the quality of students that come from our program,” said Michael Smith, The TSTC Foundation’s vice president of development. “We constantly praise Haas because of the equipment we have. We’re able to provide world-class, industry-standard training because of them.”
TSTC recognizes that manufacturing is an essential facet of the economy and is certain that its Precision Machining Technology graduates have a bright career ahead of them. The program is part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee. If graduates do not get hired in their field within six months of obtaining their degree, TSTC will refund their tuition.
The Gene Haas Foundation was established in 1999 to support the needs of the local community. Its founder, Gene Haas, is the CEO of Haas Automation Inc., a maker of computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools.
Learn more about TSTC at tstc. edu.
