Texas Southmost College and the SteelCoast Company celebrated a $283,325 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission on Thursday that will be used to create 170 new jobs at the ship-breaking company at the Port of Brownsville and upgrade the skills of 80 additional SteelCoast workers.
TSC and SteelCoast officially accepted the grant in a ceremony at SteelCoast’s ship breaking operations at the Port, saying the jobs created will provide stable, well paying jobs and improve the lives of Rio Grande Valley residents.
TSC President Jesús Roberto Rodríguez said the Skills Development Fund grant will allow TSC to move forward as an institution and Brownsville to move forward as a community.
The grant will benefit workers in the Workforce Solutions Cameron area to create 170 new jobs while providing upskilling for an additional 80 workers. The grant will provide customized instruction such as ESL courses, craft skills training in rigging and forklift operation, safety and health care disciplines, and leadership development.
“It will provide hundreds of individuals with access to excellent paying jobs that will lift them out of poverty,” said Joseph H. Fleishman, TSC associate vice president of instruction for workforce training and continuing education. “Once they get these skills, they will no longer have to settle for a job somewhere else for $5, $6, $7 an hour, they’ll be qualified to work here in a stable job with benefits. It will truly change their lives forever.”
SteelCoast President and CEO Mark A. Hodgson said the company currently has 220 employees and has two new projects coming to SteelCoast. The company is in the process of recycling the USS Nassau.
Rodriguez characterized TSC as having the “best workforce development team” in the Valley. He said TSC had invested $23 million over the last two years on job training facilities.
Workforce Solutions Cameron Director Pat Hobbs said workforce development efforts in the Valley had “reached the point where we’re starting to work together as a team. We’ve finally come to realize that if we don’t work together, not much gets done. Big things are happening in Cameron County.”
