(WACO, Texas) – More than 800 Texas State Technical College students and alumni attended TSTC’s Spring 2023 Industry Job Fair held Tuesday, March 21, in Waco.
The event was spread out across the Waco campus to include the Col. James T. Connally Aerospace Center, the Industrial Technology Center, and the Murray Watson Jr. Student Recreation Center. More than 200 companies were represented at the event, making it the largest jobs event the college has ever hosted.
Some companies had been represented at the job fair before.
Daniel Dockery, an area service leader for GE HealthCare in Dallas, is a graduate of TSTC’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program. He and other company representatives were looking for students to potentially fill six apprenticeships in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He said students with good troubleshooting skills acquired in many of TSTC’s technical programs would get their attention.
Dockery said what makes GE HealthCare a great company to work for are the camaraderie, job security and company leadership.
Some companies were new to the event.
Opifex LLC, whose headquarters are in Buda, is a construction equipment rental company that was seeking Diesel Equipment Technology students who are good at problem-solving and troubleshooting. The company has about 50 employees.
“In Central Texas, it is hard to fill the positions,” said Nate Harshbarger, the company’s vice president of operations. “We do take great care on who we hire.”
Pablo A. Cancino, sourcing specialist for Ensign Energy Services in Houston, said he was looking for mechanically inclined, blue-collar type students who have plans to become engineers. Cancino said the company has summer internships available.
“We see there is a unique niche here,” he said. “I feel we will find untapped talent here.”
Students lingered at company tables, talking to representatives while also picking up the occasional pieces of candy or branded stress toys and brochures.
James Prebosnyak, of Hillsboro, is in his fourth semester studying in the Electrical Power and Controls program. He was attending the job fair for the first time and prepared by developing questions to ask employers. He said he enjoyed talking to representatives of Oncor.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to see what is out there,” Prebosnyak said. “I think it is a good experience.”
Leo Mireles, of Crawford, is scheduled to graduate in May from the Welding Technology program. Before coming to TSTC, he received a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management at Baylor University and worked for a decade.
Mireles visited several companies that specialize in semiconductors.
“Companies need people with technical degrees,” he said. “Technical degrees are becoming the new wave.”
TSTC plans to have another Industry Job Fair in fall 2023.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.
