TSTC revamps manufacturing program at Williamson County campus
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas State Technical College campus in Williamson County is expanding its program dedicated to manufacturing, opening new doors for residents of the fast-growing county.
The Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Industrial Maintenance program will relocate to a different floor of the East Williamson County Higher Education Center in Hutto, which can now hold 40 students in a 4,122-square-foot learning space. In the previous location, the program could only hold 12 students.
According to TSTC's Business Analytics and Reporting department, the program had more than 45 graduates between summer 2020 to spring 2025.
Dr. Kelly Coke, the provost of TSTC, said the school chose to invest in the expansion since semiconducting, robotics and industrial maintenance has "really taken off" in the region.
"We have renovated our third floor space for our Advanced Manufacturing Technology program, specifically for our industrial maintenance program," Coke said. "We did that to meet the growing demands of the advanced manufacturing technology needs in this area."
Major tech players have recently moved into the county, increasing demand for industrial maintenance workers. Samsung is currently building a $17 billion chip plant in Taylor, and Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin has brought thousands of new jobs to the region.
David Porter, the executive director of Williamson County economic development, said TSTC is helping create a "talent pipeline" to cultivate a strong workforce in the county.
"What Texas State Technical College is doing is only going to enhance our capability of attracting even more companies, but they are one of our greatest asset," he said.
TSTC Dean of Manufacturing Programs Roger Snow said that investing in semiconductor manufacturing is a crucial step for the school, especially as President Donald Trump plans to introduce an 100 percent tariff on semiconductor imports.
"There's a there's an element of safety, and I think national pride as well, in saying we were able to sustain ourselves and and therefore in control of our future," Snow said of semiconductor production.
The new learning space is only part of TSTC's expansion. By this fall, TSTC aims to repurpose the former Industrial Systems space as a mock clean room to mimic conditions in a semiconductor lab.
Coke said the college is also planning to build an Advanced Manufacturing Center, a new building set to be ready in the spring 2027.
"Right now we're limited on space, and in that building we're going to be able to serve program wise, full campus wise, about 300 students," she said.
Porter said TSTC's latest expansion is only going help cultivate homegrown talent in the county.
"It's going to be a wonderful opportunity for to bring in even more people to train to go to work in the semiconductor industry," he said.