Department Spotlight | Technical Education
It’s a great time to be involved in technical education! The number of job opportunities for our students continue to rise with both legacy employers in the area, as well as new employers choosing to relocate to Amarillo. Even better - the demand for skilled workers among employers is causing wages to rise as companies compete for talent. This is great news for Tech Ed students! Students are landing great jobs with great pay before they finish their programs.
The Technical Education Division at AC includes two communities:
- Industry
- Public Service
The Public Service Community is home to our First Responders Programs; including the Fire Academy, Panhandle Regional Law Enforcement Academy (PRLEA), Criminal Justice, and Emergency Medical Tech/Paramedic. The Fire Academy is located on the AC East Campus, with Law Enforcement and Emergency Medical Tech currently housed at the AC West Campus. In the near future, the Public Service Community will relocate to AC's new First Responders Academy near AmTech on Plains Blvd.
How the Tech Ed program serves the people of Amarillo and surrounding communities:
If you live in Amarillo, you can see signs of growth all around. Have you tried to hire a plumber or electrician lately, but can’t get them to come to your house for three weeks? Have you taken your vehicle to a dealership for something you expect to be a quick fix, but it takes 4 hours? Can you imagine living in an area where there aren’t enough firefighters to respond to a house fire, or where there aren’t enough police and paramedics to respond to a vehicle accident? Do you understand the importance of every truck driver when you are tracking your Amazon package, or trying to buy fresh produce at United? Many people don’t realize the growing shortage of people who are trained to do these jobs, until the shortage affects them directly. Let’s not forget about manufacturing - What keeps Plains Dairy milk on the shelf? What keeps Tyson Foods producing food 24/7?
The answers to these questions are students who are trained in AC’s Tech Ed Programs. They are incredibly smart and have the mechanical aptitude that some of us only dream about. Our students use Ohm’s law, trigonometry, or thermodynamics to troubleshoot the systems we too often take for granted. They can fabricate working pizza ovens from 2D drawings and can replicate a customized machine part within the tightest tolerances. They keep Amarillo safe and are the first to show up during the most dangerous situations. If you have experienced any of these situations, you will likely agree. We need more! Not only in Amarillo, but across Texas and across the country; we need more people entering the workforce in all of the program areas offered in Tech Ed. So, tell your friends, your family, your neighbors, and anyone else who will listen there are incredible opportunities waiting for them in AC’s Tech Ed Programs!
Want to find out more?
David Hall, Dean of Tech Ed
dhall36@actx.edu, 806-335-4351
Claudia Arnold, Senior Advising Associate
carnold@actx.edu, 806-371-5355
Blog written by David Hall, Dean of Tech Ed
