WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Texas State Technical College is building a new Construction Technologies Center to accommodate growing enrollment in its trade programs, set to open in spring 2026.
The 129,000-square-foot facility on the Waco campus will house construction, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC programs as the school responds to increasing demand for skilled trade workers.
"It's always good to learn a trade, even if you don't know what you're doing in life. Always having a trade in your back pocket is always a good thing," Juan Castro, a third-semester building construction student at TSTC, said.
Castro is among the students who will benefit from the new center when it opens next year.
Project manager Seth Blanchard, a TSTC alumnus who is leading the construction project, describes it as a meaningful opportunity.
"It's a full circle moment. I feel like TSTC gave me a lot of tools, and to be able to come back and give back to TSTC and build the next home for the next generation of builders is really great," Blanchard said.
Since graduating from TSTC, Blanchard has witnessed firsthand the growing demand for skilled trades workers.
"For a long time, students were told to go for these other jobs, doctors and lawyers, no one was really taught or told to go to the trades. And now that we have this huge influx of need for tradesmen and tradespeople in this industry, facilities like this are a great help," Blanchard said.
The new Construction Technologies Center is scheduled to open for the spring 2026 semester.
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