BayTech Awarded Grant

The Texas Governor’s Office has awarded BayTech (the Bay Area Houston Advanced Technology Consortium) a Wagner-Peyser grant. Titled Aerospace/Space/Aviation Technician Readiness and valued at $324,029, the grant offers certified manufacturing technician training to eligible unemployed high school graduates and other eligible unemployed persons as certified aerospace composite technicians and certified aerospace electrical technicians. This workforce development program is offered at no cost to eligible participants. The program will run for one year from Sept. 1, 2021, through Aug. 31, 2022.

The federal government funds the WagnerPeyser grant through the Texas Workforce Investment Council of the Texas Governor’s Office and is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission.

BayTech Director Kim Morris said, “The application process for this Wagner-Peyser grant was much longer than anticipated due to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am really looking forward to working once again with San Jacinto College to provide the technical training that is very much in demand in this region and nationally.”

The training will be delivered by the San Jacinto College EDGE Center at the Houston Spaceport. Students who complete the course and pass a composites certification test or electrical certification test will be awarded a nationallyrecognized certification through CertTEC. BayTech will work with industry partners to identify potential internship opportunities for these participants and to facilitate their placement into industry thereby helping to create a pipeline of needed technician talent. BayTech was formed by the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and has built a network of partners across multiple industries and academia creating a resource pool which will be drawn on as collaborations are identified and workforce development and research funding is pursued.

The San Jacinto College EDGE Center offers a pathway to exciting careers in the aerospace industry. As the official education training partner for the Houston Spaceport, the San Jacinto College EDGE Center offers a variety of aerospace training programs such as composites manufacturing, aerospace electrical assembly, aerospace structures and quality structures, and manufacturing.

Kim Morris

In addition to these programs, San Jacinto College will also offer customized and individualized training based on the needs of the spaceport partners. “We are partnering with companies like Intuitive Machines to offer our students the very best, upto-date knowledge about the aerospace industry,” said Dr. Janis Fowler, director of the College’s aerospace education and workforce department. “Students will have the opportunity to learn and work on projects side-by-side with professionals who are working on NASA-level projects including the lunar lander.” Visit www.sanjac.edu/edge-center-aerospace.

For more information, contact Kim Morris at kim@bayareahouston.com or Kylie Wischnewsky at kylie@bayareahouston.com