Young people ages 18 to 24 who are not enrolled in higher education and who are not working are the targeted group, said Tiffany Gallegos Whitley, Prosper Waco director of workforce initiatives. Participants who meet income eligibility requirements will pay nothing for their seven weeks of training provided by Texas State Technical College and Goodwill Industries.
The industrial maintenance program is a crash course, Whitley said. Class will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Dewey Community Center.
TSTC will supplement classroom instruction with its mobile construction site, Whitley said, referring to a van filled with tools and equipment.
Completion will earn trainees a certificate from the National Center for Construction Education and Research. The course work can serve as an introduction to specialized training in advanced manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, welding and electrical tasks, Whitley said.
Students need not buy tools or other material, which will be provided.
“They are responsible for their own steel-toed shoes,” she said.
Absent qualifying for a scholarship, a participant would be required to pay between $1,200 and $2,000 for the training, Whitley said.
She said Prosper Waco hopes to recruit 90 people over two years. She said the “sweet spot” is having five to 10 participants each session, allowing for individual attention and pandemic-related precautions, if necessary.
