overnor Greg Abbott today announced 60 career training grants totaling over $15 million have been awarded to Texas higher education institutions and independent school districts (ISD) to train students for high-demand, good-paying jobs after graduation. These Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants awarded through the the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) will help public junior, state, and technical colleges; school districts; and open-enrollment charter schools buy equipment for career and technical education (CTE) programs that help students across the state go into high-demand industries.
“As Texas’ economy continues to grow, it is critical that we invest in our future workforce,” said Governor Abbott. “This $15 million in career training grants will support career and technical training programs for thousands of Texas students across our great state. I thank the Texas Workforce Commission for its continued partnership with Texas’ high schools, colleges, and universities to help students achieve high-demand, good-paying jobs after graduation. The work being done at the Texas Workforce Commission and in our educational institutions across Texas ensures Texans have opportunities that lead to a better job and a bigger paycheck.”
This $15 million in career training grants will give Texas students the chance to earn licenses, certificates, or college degrees that lead to good-paying jobs in high-demand industries. In the first year alone, the new equipment will help train more than 6,900 students.
“As the Texas economy grows, so does the demand for a skilled workforce,” said TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel. “The JET grant program helps meet that demand by providing opportunities for Texans to gain valuable, hands-on experience that will prepare them to step into those high-demand careers.”
TWC is now accepting applications for the 2025 JET grant program. Texas public junior, state, and technical colleges; school districts; and open-enrollment charter schools may apply.
The complete JET application packet can be downloaded from the TWC Procurement Portal website. For questions or more information about this opportunity, e-mail RFAGrants@twc.texas.gov.
The 2024 JET grants will be used to purchase and install equipment at the following public junior, technical, and state colleges, including Lamar State College-Orange: a $98,799 grant to train 94 students as licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
JET grants awarded in 2024 will be used to purchase and install equipment at the following Texas ISDs and open-enrollment charter schools, including Vidor ISD: a $254,777 grant to train 100 students as welders.
The full list of funded institutions can be seen here.
Through funding provided by the Texas Legislature each biennium, TWC uses JET grants to defray start-up costs to develop career and technical education programs for public community, state, and technical colleges; school districts; and open-enrollment charter schools. Equipment funded through JET grants must be used to train students for jobs in high-demand occupations.
