KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com | Smart Career Move to Come for High Schoolers Not Planning on Attending College

By Jen Kastner
NewsWest 9

PERMIAN BASIN- It only takes a few minutes of watching Casey Jones at work to realize that for him, working at an auto repair shop isn't just a job. He loves it. For Casey, getting prepared for a career at an early age is just plain smart.

"I think a person with a certificate would have a better shot at getting a job than a person that doesn't have one because that means maybe he knows a little about what he's doing. Maybe he doesn't know a lot but at least he already has his feet wet," Jones said.

He's referring to Texas Workforce Solutions' new initiative. They're planning to enter local high schools and test their students.

Wille Taylor with the Workforce Solutions says, "[We'll] try to assess some of the juniors and seniors in the areas of math, reading and information. Once they make a certain score on the assessment, they receive a national certification."

The certification is called a National Career Readiness Certificate. So far, its recognized across the United States by the National Association of Manufacturers, National Center for Construction Education and Research and the Center for Energy Workforce Development.

"They can work on the construction side of it, the medical side of it and of course in the oil and gas [industry], which just depends on their age group," Taylor said.

Also needing more workers are the truck driving and automotive businesses.

The Original Dent Shop owner Willie Balerio is on board with the plan.

"I think that it would give them a boost in their self-esteem to be able to know that they can actually go out and find a job with this certificate," Balerio said.

Texas Workforce Solutions knows strengthening our youth will only help us out even more in the future.

"Some of the youth are going on to community college and some will go on to universities and some will go into the military. However, we also have a percent that will go into the workforce and that's the big chore of it. We want to make sure that our industries here have what we call a 'qualified workforce'," Taylor said.

Texas Workforce Solutions says they hope to have all the local school districts using the assessment tests within the next few months.