Mission EDC and STC embark on new partnership at CEED.
The Mission Economic Development Corporation and South Texas College announced a new partnership Wednesday morning at the grand opening of the latter’s new Office for Academic Affairs and Economic Development inside the Center for Education and Economic Development Center (CEED) in Mission, Texas. The office signifies the collaborative effort between the two entities to impact the Rio Grande Valley through entrepreneurship, labor skills training, and continuing education. The partnership hopes to continue positioning the Valley as an economic hub flush with skilled laborers and capable business leaders ready to meet the challenges of the ever-changing 21st-century economy.
“There really isn’t any economic development without education partners, whether at the high school, community college, or university level,” MEDC Chief Executive Officer Teclo Garcia said.
The partnership was also championed and supported by various municipal and state government levels. Representatives from Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz and Senator Ted Cruz’s offices were in attendance, while newly hired Sharyland ISD Superintendent Elaine Howard and City of Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza had front-row seats for the event.
The CEED is home to over 20 tenants while STC is the sixth institution of higher education to partner with the MEDC by housing one of its marquee programs inside the CEED. The office will allow STC to connect students, laborers, and businesses by offering specialized courses and apprenticeship programs to create a workforce of highly trained laborers able to attract investment opportunities and promote industry growth and wage increases.
Courses in public speaking, customer service, English-Spanish language, Organizational Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation, and even Law Enforcement will be affordable for degreed and non-degreed individuals.
“Our goal is lifeline-long learning for our students,” Carlos Margo, Dean for Industry Training and Economic Development said, when describing course offerings at the ribbon cutting event.
“As we enter a new era at the Mission CEED building, we look forward to continue providing training that will upskill, reskill and train residents for in-demand jobs that will be a steppingstone for life-changing success.” STC President Dr. Ricardo Solis said to highlight the beginning of what hopes to be a fruitful partnership.
The long term impact is obvious but the immediate impact of this partnership and others the MEDC is fostering at CEED are to create more sustainable and profitable opportunities for RGV residents. Those goals color the possible future the MEDC expects to create within the coming years. With the progress they’ve made in the past decade, that future is highly attainable.
CEO Teclo Garcia explained, “We want to understand what more we can do with this building to get people skilled up. We want to increase our training and class offerings so we can recruit business that come with higher paying jobs. The tech realm is not out of reach, but we need to concentrate on some of the medical jobs and logistic jobs that are high paying. We want to be able to decrease our unemployment rate and increase our paychecks. That’s what it’s all about.”
