AUSTIN, Texas — Tesla is one of the latest tech companies to announce it’s moving its headquarters to Austin. A Texas college is partnering with the tech company to employ students, while teaching them manufacturing-related skills.
Austin Community College (ACC) has partnered with Tesla for the first-ever Tesla START Manufacturing Program.
“When we were looking for a home for our next factory and our next manufacturing presence in the United States, we started having conversations here in Austin,” Chris Riley with Tesla’s recruiting said as he welcomed in the first program graduates at ACC. “The energy was palpable. You can see the partnerships being built.”
The program is a partnership between Austin Community College and Tesla. It’s the first of its kind in the nation.
Other colleges across the country, including one at Texas State Technical College in Waco, have similar programs, but are geared toward automotive rather than manufacturing.
Students at ACC are considered Tesla employees while undergoing the 14-week course.
The first cohort of students graduate in December 2021.
According to Tesla, during the program, students develop technical expertise and earn certifications through in-class theory, hands-on labs and self-paced learning.
Once students graduate, they have the opportunity to accept a full-time position at the Tesla factory.
“You know when they say robots take away jobs, they don’t,” Laura Marmolejo, chair of the advanced manufacturing department at ACC, said. “You have to have someone to program it, fix it when things go wrong.”
Tech companies like Tesla and Samsung are gaining presence in Central Texas, creating more than 12,000 tech jobs by the year 2026.
Earlier this year Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the manufacturing plant in Austin, also known as Giga, would hire more than 10,000 jobs by the end of 2022.
Samsung’s new semiconductor factory in Taylor, Texas, is expected to create as many as 1,800 jobs.
ACC has seen an increase in demand for its manufacturing program that launched in the fall of 2020. According to ACC, it’s received more than 600 applications to the Tesla START Manufacturing Program since it launched in the fall of 2021.
Tommy Andrade, a student in the manufacturing program, is one of the latest to apply.
“I just remember when there was nothing here,” Andrade said.
Seeing the growth within the city firsthand, he decided to change his career path from construction to manufacturing.
“It's increasing exponentially and they can't find workers to get there,” Andrade said. “For me looking at it from that perspective, taking it as an opportunity to be able to advance my career more quickly, and get to where I want to be.”
He starts this spring and is one of 60 students currently accepted and enrolled.
“I know a lot of times you're in school and then you kind of don't know what to do afterwards,” Andrade said. “This is kind of nice to have that light at the end of the tunnel and know what all your hard work is going to culminate to at the end and actually have that opportunity to be in a good company, in a good position.”
ACC expects to train another 120 students over the next 12 to 18 months.
The college is working with those students who applied but were not yet accepted to identify any gaps in their manufacturing skills and direct them to courses at ACC. This will increase their current knowledge base and align with the manufacturing needs in the local area.