An effort to prepare West Texas students to work in the oil and gas industry is expanding

West Texas Students

Giovanni Parra’s instructor asked the class (West Texas Students) to weld the opposite ends of a wire during a lesson on soldering. The 16-year-old sprinted to the nearest workstation.

Parra is among dozens of students in a technical education program offered by the Midland school district that is preparing students to work in their own backyard, the oil-rich Permian Basin.

Unlike other classes at his high school, this one makes Parra feel connected to his family’s legacy.

“My whole family works in the oil fields,” Parra said. “I’m trying to see what I’m good at.”

One of a Few Students

Parra, a sophomore, is one of a few students who have access to this sort of hands-on learning. Within the 55 counties making up the Permian Basin between Texas and New Mexico. Just four school districts offer classes that directly prepare students for work in the oil fields. A highly competitive market always short of workers.

Hundreds of students in Odessa are on a waitlist to take classes that teach them the basics of oil and gas.

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Source: The Texas Tribune

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