Texas A&M is helping shape the workforce of tomorrow
Dr. Cindy Lawley and Texas A&M Engineering have developed innovative ways to meet the needs of the modern workforce.
Texas A&M University is bridging the gap between academic learning and workforce needs, offering the customized training and skillsets needed in today’s workforce. Under the leadership of Dr. Cindy Lawley, Texas A&M is building momentum as an innovator in education and workforce development by providing students — and current workers — with the skills they need to become a force for good in the workplace.
“My passion for workforce development and education has come from many years of preparing students for work in the real world,” said Lawley, who serves as assistant vice chancellor of academic outreach and workforce development programs at Texas A&M Engineering. She and her team are developing programs that build partnerships with industry and Texas communities to meet real-world needs and bolster the talent pipeline.
The engineering workforce program sets itself apart from the crowd with its unique approach, which Lawley calls “cradle to gray.” With this approach, Texas A&M offers opportunities for PreK-12 students to learn about engineering and STEM careers and current workers to learn the skills needed to meet the demands in rapidly evolving sectors like cybersecurity and manufacturing.
The mission for our Texas A&M workforce program is to provide the best societal aspect and training for everyone out in the workforce. We want to create a pathway where anybody can be anything they want.
“We do a lot of work in up-skilling current workers or re-skilling workers. The semiconductor industry is a perfect example,” she said. “Semiconductor is new, and it has specialized components of the work. We will re-skill or up-skill manufacturing workers, so they can get new or higher-paying jobs that benefit them and their families.”
To date, Texas A&M Engineering has programs in 197 communities across Texas. “We engage with students from all of those communities. We also take our students back into the communities so they can give back while they’re there and get hands-on experiences.”
Getting Kids Excited About STEM
“The mission for our Texas A&M workforce program is to provide the best societal aspect and training for everyone out in the workforce. We want to create a pathway where anybody can be anything they want.”
That’s why Texas A&M developed a PreK-12 program designed to engage with students, teach them about engineering and STEM and encourage them to pursue careers in critical fields. The Spark! PK-12 Engineering Education Outreach program offers many programs designed to encourage students’ interest in STEM. The Spark! team even has a traveling van that goes out into rural communities across Texas and provides students across all grade levels the chance to participate in activities like Ozobot coding robots, KUBO robotics and more, all focused on providing fun ways to teach young people about STEM.
“We start early with the kids. We give them experiences. We let them talk to real working engineers to get them excited about what’s going on.”
“It’s really exciting when you see the light bulb go off. These students think they can do anything, and that’s the age you need to get them excited about what’s going on, whether that’s the little bitties in the PreK area or whether it’s middle school. And sometimes even the high school kids are still floundering trying to figure out what they’re doing and what they want to be when they grow up.”
Bringing Texas A&M to More Texans
Lawley also helped design and implement an education model that brings Texas A&M engineering courses to students across Texas through the innovative Texas A&M Engineering Academies, which launched in 2015. The program, the first of its kind in the nation, was designed to partner Texas A&M’s engineering program with community colleges across Texas, bringing the power of Texas A&M to small communities in Texas.
Students are co-enrolled in Texas A&M and one of 10 partner colleges. Academies students take mathematics, science and core curriculum courses through the partner college while taking engineering courses from Texas A&M faculty on the partner college campus. After one or two years, students transition to Texas A&M to complete their bachelor’s degrees. Unlike traditional transfer programs, students are Texas A&M College of Engineering Aggies from day one.
“We started in two community colleges. We now have 10 partnerships. We started with a class of 92 students; this fall, we will have 875 new students starting. These are students who don’t go to a four-year institution, not because they’re not good enough. They go because, financially, they can’t do it.
“A student who could go two years at the academy and then transition to A&M can save up to $40,000 over the course of their four-year degree. We have graduated as of this August, 912 students. They are out all across the U.S., but 95% of them come back to the state of Texas. Many go back to their home locations,” she said.
We hear this a lot when we talk to employers — the number one reason they want Aggie engineers, besides the fact that they are the best trained in the world, is because they bring the high work ethic, the respect, the loyalty, all of those to their job and in everything they do.
“What we hear a lot from our companies is that the students who go through our academies are typically students who really understand the hands-on aspect. They understand the hard work. Many of our students work full-time jobs. We have over 80% of our academy students who work 20 hours or more a week, plus go to school at the same time, because they’re paying for their education. Companies really pay attention to that. And the dedication and the perseverance of these students really shine,” Lawley said.
Closing the Skills Gap
It can be a challenge to stay on top of labor and market trends, but Lawley says that one of the ways universities can help students is to keep them up to date on ever-changing technology.
“For students to be prepared for the workforce, I think the role of the university is both to provide the background, the fundamental theoretical knowledge, but also to provide the critical thinking skills and the practical applications of what’s happening,” Lawley said. “They need to stay updated. Students are here for four to four-and-a-half years. But during that time, technology is changing so quickly. We have to get students out there, get them working hand in hand with engineers that are out in the field or with scientists or mathematicians that are out so they can see the new things. They can also see how those skills that they’re learning actually will apply to what their job is going to be, and they’ve just excelled in their career.”
Lawley and her team also listen to feedback from industry and adapt their approach to meet the needs of the workforce.
“We have been told for years that our engineering academic students are fantastic, theoretical students. However, one of the things that they lacked was hands-on experience. So, about four years ago, we created a program called Bachelor’s Plus, which is a program for our current A&M engineering students.”
In summer, students can take courses like welding, project management, cybersecurity or operations control, and earn a certificate. “It’s a non-academic certificate, but when they graduate, they’ll have their academic degree, plus they’ll have new skills. So, it puts them a little bit ahead of the game,” she said.
“We are doing a lot of work to close the skills gap. We create programs where our workforce team goes into communities across Texas and the nation. We really sit down and have the conversation with industry, ‘What are you lacking?’ We go through and we match either something we already have or something new that we could create.
“We hear this a lot when we talk to employers — the number one reason they want Aggie engineers, besides the fact that they are the best trained in the world, is because they bring the high work ethic, the respect, the loyalty, all of those to their job and in everything they do.”
At this year’s Chronicle of Higher Education ChronFest, a premier national gathering of higher education leaders taking place Sept. 16-18, Lawley will lead a session on Day 3 titled “Scaling Success: Texas A&M’s Bold Approach to Workforce Readiness.” She will discuss how higher education can deliver graduates who are truly ready to lead, innovate and serve in a rapidly changing workforce.
The conversation will highlight how Texas A&M is building scalable pathways — from apprenticeships to statewide partnerships — that align academic excellence with labor market needs while advancing the university’s land-grant mission. The university community is invited to attend the virtual session on Thursday, Sept. 18. Registration is free.
