STC apprenticeships transform South Texas workforce

Photo Caption: Left to pick up the pieces after her father’s passing due to COVID, Noble Texas Builders Risk Management manager Diana Gonzalez (top) attributes career growth to apprenticeship programs available at South Texas College. Photo: Courtesy South Texas College.

Joey Gomez, South Texas College Communications

Not more than two years ago, Diana Gonzalez said she was at a crossroads in her professional career, seeking new opportunities for growth and learning, and through an innovative apprenticeship at South Texas College, she was able to advance her skills in construction.  

For more than 14 years, from 2007 to 2022, Gonzalez worked alongside her father in his residential construction company and business was good, until he passed away.

“My father passed away unfortunately due to COVID, and I was left to complete everything to fulfill our commitment to the clients,” Gonzalez said. “When I got all his unfinished projects closed out, I began to sit and wonder whether I was done growing professionally and the answer was ’no’. So, I began to consider what else I could do so I could continue to grow and be given the opportunity to continuously learn.”

Gonzalez said Finding work with Texas Noble Builders as a project manager fulfilled that need, and within two years she would work her way into a Risk Management position with the company made possible through the Construction Superintendent apprenticeship programs available at STC.    

“STC presented me with opportunities that allowed me to perfect the skills I needed in the field,” Gonzalez said. “I was very pleased with the (apprenticeship) program. Closing that chapter and completing the program, for me, opened up a new opportunity to pursue risk management. I am constantly trying to keep an eye out for whatever STC has to offer and very much in tune with the new programs the college is rolling out.”

Despite having a Master of Science (MS) in Construction Management as well as a business degree in Marketing, she has become a major advocate for community colleges and what they have to offer, even noting that it was STC that helped her explore a new chapter in her career.  

At least 12 employees from Noble have gone through STC’s Construction Superintendent Apprenticeship program, which has enabled them to “earn while they learn” while receiving certificates in the industry.

Sharing Gonzalez’s sentiments, Juan Chavez, Ed.D., vice president of Leadership Development at Texas Noble Builders said that STC, through its apprenticeship programs, has emerged as a key ally providing valuable training opportunities to Noble employees.

Opportunities through STC’s Center for Advanced Training and Apprenticeships (CATA) are changing the landscape for those looking to improve their skills in industry and STC has done a phenomenal job bridging that gap, Chavez said.

“When I arrived here, I noticed that that we had a few of our team members going through one of the apprenticeship programs and I immediately got involved because I was already doing education and training, as well as developing curriculum for Noble because of my background,” Chavez said. “South Texas College had this great opportunity, that perhaps was under the radar, but that would eventually allow our team members to come back with a wealth of knowledge including blueprint reading, scheduling – really all of the facets that would allow them to become effective superintendents.”

Through CATA, STC promotes a collaboration between apprenticeship coordinators and employers to create a curriculum that meets industry standards while providing the necessary resources and training for success.

In a strategic partnership between CATA, the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of Associated General Contractors of America (RGV-AGC) and industry partners, STC forged the Construction Superintendent Apprenticeship.

The specific apprenticeship program, which is the one utilized by Noble, is a “hybrid-style” setup with a certificate that can be completed in four to six months and encompasses 2,000 hours of on-the-job training that is required before students earn a journeyman certificate.

The program covers essential aspects of blueprint reading, construction management and leadership while providing students with the flexibility they need to work and study.

“My role involves establishing partnerships with institutions of higher education like STC, which is very important to us (Noble) because we need to make sure that we are able to look at every possibility out there to educate our employees while looking at our resources available in the community,” Chavez said. “Having partners like South Texas College is essential because we can actually have discussions, bounce ideas off of each other and receive feedback from the last cohort of employees that went through the apprenticeship program…what they’re saying, what they’re excited about, and how they are applying what they have learned on the job.”

Chavez hopes the apprenticeship model established by STC takes off in other parts of the state.

With the success of the STC apprenticeship program among employees, Chavez said plans are already in the works to extend it to Noble offices in San Antonio and Houston.

“All of us agree that we’re here to share. We’re here to help other people,” Chavez said. “We want to create opportunities not just in the Rio Grande Valley region, but if we can impact San Antonio through this program, then we’ll be more than happy to do that. What South Texas College has done here, we want to replicate it, and hopefully soon among San Antonio’s workforce.”

For more information about the apprenticeships and customized trainings offered by STC’s Center for Advanced Training and Apprenticeships, call 956-872-6197 or contact Apprenticeship Navigator Christabel Jasso at [email protected].