In June, the Research Valley Partnershp (RVP) created a committee to address what the economic development agency believes is limited career and technical training for 34 occupations in Brazos County.
That committee has notified the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board its intent to create a community college district.
Andrew Nelson, who co-chairs the RVP’s Talent Pipeline Initiative Steering Committee, says a new college is one of several options they will consider between now and December.
Nelson says if the committee recommends a joint effort with Blinn, that could lead to Blinn expanding its property tax base to Brazos County, which would provide majority control of the college’s board of trustees.
But if the final decision is to start a new institution, they would buy out Blinn’s facilities and take over contractual responsibilities in Brazos County.
Click HERE to read and download the RVP notice to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Click below for comments from Andrew Nelson, visiting with WTAW’s Scott Delucia:
After the committee announced notifying the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board its intent to create a community college district, a statement was issued by Blinn College president Mary Hensley…which reads in part: “Blinn College remains committed to providing the full spectrum of community college services necessary to meet this community’s career, technical, and workforce development needs. Blinn officials look forward to working alongside community leaders to meet Brazos County’s expanding need for educational services.”
Earlier this week, Blinn’s trustees approved a 20 year lease with Brenham’s economic development foundation to expand Brenham’s technical education center.
And Blinn issued a separate statement earlier this week indicating the college provides training for 28 of 34 occupations identified in a regional report.
But none of Blinn’s releases indicate how many of those training programs are located in Brazos County.
Statement from the RVP’s Talent Pipeline Initiative Steering Committee:
A group of Brazos County business and community leaders today notified the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board of their intent to create a new community college district.
Established through the Research Valley Partnership, the Talent Pipeline Initiative Steering Committee’s purpose is to rapidly expand career and technical infrastructure and programs in Brazos County by examining all possible options, which may or may not include creating a new community college.
The Steering Committee’s Letter of Intent is required by Texas State Law under Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 8, Subchapter B, Rule 8.26, Tex. Admin. Code, to notify the higher education governing body 90 days in advance of any request to create a new community college district.
The letter to the Coordinating Board contains assurances that should a new community college be established, existing operations would not be disrupted.
“Steering Committee representatives stressed that today’s letter simply preserves the option of creating a community college district while it seeks to explore a number of potential solutions to fill a gap between highly skilled and technical jobs and the infrastructure and programs to provide that education,” said Andrew Nelson, Steering Committee co-chairman.
The letter points to a projection from the State of Texas Demographer of a doubling in Brazos County’s population by 2050, exacerbating an already deficient technical workforce program that
the area’s current and future employers require.
It also cites an economic report that found existing course offerings were not sufficient to meet 34 high-skill, high-growth targeted occupation programs.
“Compared to all other high growth regions of Texas, Brazos County is dramatically underserved by community college programs that could give our county a valuable technical workforce,” said
Bobby Gutierrez, Steering Committee secretary. “To not pursue this as an option would be irresponsible to the citizens of Brazos County.”
Gutierrez emphasized that among the Committee’s first steps was to explore cooperation with existing programs, such as those offered by Blinn College.
“We appreciate and recognize Blinn College’s contribution to this community and our educational infrastructure, and we have asked Blinn to work with us to address the gap that we have in our
workforce development needs. Great jobs are being created in this community; now we need great educational workforce training to ensure we can meet those opportunities,” he said.
“It’s our sincere hope that Blinn College will recognize this need and work with us to rapidly expand career and technical infrastructure and programs in Brazos County,” Gutierrez added. “They have given us a proposal per our request and we will now evaluate that proposal.”
Statement from Blinn College President Mary Hensley:
Having proudly served Brazos County for 46 years, Blinn College remains committed to providing the full spectrum of community college services necessary to meet this community’s career, technical, and workforce development needs. Blinn officials look forward to working alongside community leaders to meet Brazos County’s expanding need for educational services.
Blinn College news release after trustees approved a 20 year lease for technical and career training programs in Brenham:
The Blinn College Board of Trustees approved a 20-year tenancy lease with the Economic Development Foundation of Brenham (EDF) regarding the A.W. Hodde, Jr., Technical Education Center at its regular meeting Tuesday night.
The lease calls for a $0 base rent and provides Blinn the option to purchase the property at a future date for $1. The lease begins upon completion of the building.
Blinn has agreed to handle daily operations of the new 7,200-square-foot facility as an extension of the Hodde Center, saving administrative costs and expanding the training capacity of the Hodde Center, located in the Brenham Business Park at 2910 South Blue Bell Road. The new space will include a multi-purpose classroom, a multi-purpose lab, and a welding lab.
In 2015, the Brenham EDF was awarded a $1.35 million grant to expand the Hodde Center, adding a second building to the facility that will allow Blinn to expand its career and technical training programs for local job seekers.
Using this new space, Blinn will develop new programs to support the high skill/high growth occupations in the region, including industrial machinery mechanics, commercial truck driving, and heavy equipment operation. To support truck drivers and heavy equipment operators, a program in diesel engine mechanics also will be developed.
In addition to the funds provided through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s 2015 Economic Development Assistance Programs, Blinn pledged $50,000 in funding and $50,000 in equipment. Brenham Community Development Corp. pledged $250,000 and land valued at $100,000, and Washington County commissioners committed $50,000.
Blinn’s Hodde Center offers a variety of career development and leadership courses as well as programs and courses in computers, health professions, manufacturing, welding and safety.
Blinn improves the local economy by helping job-seekers obtain the skills and credentials they need to succeed in the workplace, and by partnering with local businesses to offer training opportunities for incumbent and new employees.
For more information on Blinn’s career and technical course offerings, visit www.blinn.edu/workforce.
Statement from Blinn College regarding investment in Brazos County:
Blinn College has proudly and effectively served Brazos County for 46 years, investing heavily in this community to ensure that it continues to provide exemplary academic transfer and career/technical programs that meet the needs of students and industry.
PROGRAM SUCCESS IN BRAZOS COUNTY
Ø Blinn College’s academic transfer programs are nationally recognized. Blinn’s academic transfer rate of 39.5% ranks second among the state’s 50 community college districts and far exceeds the state average of 22.0%.
Ø Blinn College offers training programs for 28 of the 34 occupations identified in the Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley Targeted Occupations for Fiscal Year 2017, including training for all seven Targeted Occupations with an hourly wage of $30 or more.
Ø Blinn is developing customized training programs for two of the six Targeted Occupations it does not offer, and two more programs are under review.
Ø Blinn’s training programs align with the occupations that are projected to have the most local job openings over a 10-year period, training students for 550 new positions.
Ø In August 2016, Hanover research conducted an environmental scan for The Texas A&M University System and identified five occupations with the highest local labor market demand: nursing, engineering, computer science and systems, mathematics, paralegals, and teacher education. Blinn College offers training in each of these programs.
Ø According to a report produced by The Perryman Group in August 2016, Blinn College is on pace to produce approximately 40,000 graduates between 2015 and 2040, approximately double the 16,000 awards required to meet the Brazos Valley’s employment growth and replacement needs.
Ø In addition to its variety of career and technical courses, Blinn provides customized training programs for individual employers, utilizing Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Skills Development Fund and Skills for Small Business grants to provide low-cost safety and skills training. During the past year, Blinn has obtained $1.1 million in TWC grants in partnership with local businesses.
INVESTMENT IN BRAZOS COUNTY
Ø Blinn College is investing more than $30 million in the new RELLIS Campus.
Ø Earlier this year, Blinn College completed a $10 million campus renovation project that expanded student study and lounge space, created a new black box theatre space, expanded food services, and improved campus parking and traffic flow.
Ø At its September board meeting, Blinn approved approximately $1 million in Bryan Campus traffic and landscaping improvements.
FINANCIAL IMPACT IN BRAZOS COUNTY
Ø By attracting students from around the state to Brazos County, Blinn College brings new money into the community. Blinn’s most recent study found that its Bryan Campus makes a $248 million annual impact on the local economy.
Ø Only 12% of Blinn students come from Brazos County. With 88% of students coming from outside Brazos County, Blinn brings new students into the community and maximizes the economic impact of the Bryan Campus.
Ø Blinn’s recent House Bill 2138 Report providing a breakdown of campus expenditures clearly shows that revenues from the Bryan Campus are not utilized to pay for Brenham Campus expenditures.
Ø Blinn’s non-credit courses are the same price throughout its service area.
Ø Brazos County residents have never had to pay Blinn College taxes to obtain the benefits Blinn provides the community.
UPDATE with statements issued by Blinn College following the original post about training programs in Brazos County:
As you cited, we offer training for 28 of the 34 programs identified on Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley’s Targeted Occupations List.
Of these, 26 programs are offered in Bryan. Computer controlled machine tool operators and operating engineers/other equipment operators (forklift operators) currently are only offered at the Hodde Center in Brenham.
Forklift operation can be taught in Bryan if an employer requests training, and a discussion of how to accommodate the computer controlled machine tool operator equipment is currently taking place.
Additionally, the supervisors of construction trades program under development will be offered in Bryan in January, and the two programs under review for development (carpenters and plumbers) would be Bryan programs.
It’s also worth mentioning that all 10 occupations with the highest number of annual openings on the Targeted Occupations List, totaling 550 jobs each year, are offered in Bryan (including some that are only offered in Bryan), and all seven occupations with wages over $30 are offered in Bryan, with three of these offered only in Bryan.