HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Culinary Arts Program at Texas State Technical College is coming to an end.
“While we have about 50 students in the program once they complete it, not all of them go into that industry,” Cledia Hernandez, External Relations & Workforce Development at TSTC.
The low-interest-rate in the culinary program is one of the reasons TSTC decided to remove it, after decades of being part of their school.
“We started to see more numbers dwindling with regards to the positions they are filling and therefore we want to make sure that we are preparing the students to go into a field they are more interested in,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez said the decision was made based on an assessment of the program and the benefits to the students.
“Are they requiring associate-level degrees? Are they requiring certain competency? Are they requiring a level one certificate or is it just an industry-recognized credential?” said Hernandez.
Hernandez said now there are less educational requirements for culinary jobs.
“This has been a program where it has had a little bit lower performance as well as lower wages, so how can we be able to help our students?,” said Hernandez.
One way they are looking to do that is by working with workforce solutions to see what jobs are in high demand.
“The industry is growing in various areas especially here in South Texas such as allied health and so how can we be able to reallocate and redirect some of those resources,” said Hernandez.
Just because the culinary program is ending at TSTC doesn’t mean students can’t go into this field. Hernandez said there are other schools that offer the training.
