South Texas College in McAllen Texas is on the verge of launching a first-of-its-kind apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor dedicated to participants who are interested in pursuing a future in becoming a registered nurse. South Texas College recently received an Apprenticeship Texas Expansion Grant from the Texas Workforce Commission for a total of $593,934, which allows the program to be a part of the largest expansion of apprenticeships funded by a single grant in the state.
Julian Alvarez, the labor representative on the Texas Workforce Commission recently spoke with Department of Labor officials about the program on a recent visit to the White House. Alvarez was at the White House due to being appointed a national Apprentice Ambassador and gave his interview to the Guardian at a recent TWC conference on apprenticeships that was held at the McAllen Convention Center with the level of interest in the conference described as overwhelming.
“We were overwhelmed by the response. We had people not only from Texas attending but from other parts of the country too. They came in and wanted to hear a little bit more about apprenticeship programs and starting one up. What better place to do it than at South Texas College where right now we are working on the standards in registered nursing, BSN, LVN, putting them through an apprenticeship program? So we submitted the application. We’re hoping soon that the Department of Labor approves it so that South Texas College could be the first college in the country that will be offering an apprenticeship program in this type of skill.
Julian Alvarez, Texas Workforce Commission Labor Representative
With the funding received from the grant, South Texas College will look to add on 297 new apprentices to fill in the creation of seven new registered apprenticeships, expanding upon six current registered apprenticeships. They will also look to create two new linked pre-apprenticeship programs this fall.
Apprenticeship Texas Expansion Grant will support the creation of new registered apprenticeship programs that represent multi-industry, high-demand occupations in the Rio Grande Valley area. No other organization or institution in South Texas has as many registered apprenticeship programs as South Texas College.
The expansion grant also marks a significant stepping stone for the program as it adds the brand-new first-of-its-kind healthcare-related apprenticeship programs that include a focus on electrocardiogram (EKG) technicians, phlebotomy technicians, medical administrative assistants, medical billing specialists, and certified nursing assistants.
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