It was a leap of faith. At 25, Mordecai Gonzalez-Rodriguez left a stable job at Goodwill, where he spent his days helping others build resumes, apply for jobs and navigate career changes. His future was comfortable, but he wanted something different.
He had been considering a career in the skilled trades, even though he had little mechanical experience and no formal technical training. Then he saw a flyer advertising a free workforce training program through Texas State Technical College’s The WorkSITE.
“I just went for it,” Gonzalez-Rodriguez said. “I wanted to explore my options in the trades. I didn’t really know what the program actually entailed very much.”
What he did know was that he was starting from scratch.
“I seriously didn’t know anything about this,” he said. “I didn’t even know some of the tools’ names. I was as green as could be.”
Today, Gonzalez-Rodriguez works as a wastewater operator at Walmart’s new dairy processing facility in Robinson, helping manage the water treatment systems that keep one of Central Texas’ newest manufacturing facilities operating safely. Just months after being hired, he earned a promotion to a lead wastewater position, combining the leadership skills he developed in his previous career with the technical knowledge he gained through The WorkSITE.
For him, those seven weeks of intensive training changed everything.
His story is exactly the kind of success Texas State Technical College hoped to create when last year it opened The WorkSITE — a workforce training center designed to connect local residents with high-demand careers while helping industries solve one of their greatest challenges: finding skilled employees.
Located in the heart of Waco’s industrial corridor, The WorkSITE represents a different approach to workforce education. Rather than asking students to commit to a year-long certificate or a two-year associate degree, The WorkSITE specializes in accelerated programs that can prepare students for employment in as little as five to 15 weeks.
The acronym SITE stands for Skills, Innovation, Training and Education, reflecting the facility’s focus on rapidly developing practical, industry-recognized skills.
The concept grew from conversations between TSTC and local leaders who recognized the tremendous industrial growth occurring throughout McLennan County, according to Kacey Darnell, vice president of student learning and senior director of The WorkSITE.
“The city and the county approached TSTC about having a training center closer to this side of town in the industrial park area,” Darnell said. “They really value TSTC and the training it provides for employers and residents.”
Construction began after a September 2023 groundbreaking. The college received the keys in December 2024, and classes began just two months later in February 2025.
Since opening, the center has trained more than 440 people, a number Darnell said she believes reflects both the demand for skilled workers and the community’s desire for faster pathways into well-paying careers.
“We serve two clients out here,” she said. “We serve industry, if they need to send their current employees in for training or upskilling. But we also work with members of the community who need to get in and out quickly.”
That dual mission sets The WorkSITE apart. As manufacturers, like Graphic Packaging International, Walmart, Electrolit and others, expanded throughout the region, hundreds of new positions needed to be filled. The question wasn’t simply where those workers would come from. It was how quickly they could be trained.
“You’re going to have to train them,” Darnell said.
Walking into one of The WorkSITE’s training labs, it becomes immediately clear that students are expected to do much more than sit through lectures.
Inside the 34,000-square-foot facility are two expansive 8,000-square-foot flex labs filled with industrial equipment that can be rearranged to match specific employer needs. Specialized training areas, classrooms, meeting spaces and computer labs support everything from advanced manufacturing certifications to OSHA safety courses and forklift training. Nearly everything is movable.
“The equipment is all on wheels,” instructor Larry Griffin said. “It’s designed to be flexible. If we need to shuffle everything around tomorrow, we can.”
That flexibility allows instructors to recreate real manufacturing environments rather than forcing companies to adapt to a standard curriculum. The teaching philosophy is equally adaptable.
“We’re technicians training technicians,” said industrial systems and instrumentation instructor Clayton Christensen.
Instead of spending hours listening to lectures, students spend much of their time working directly with equipment.
“You’re not coming here to sit in a classroom and just be talked at,” Christensen said. “Fifty percent, if not more, of the class is hands-on.”
For Christensen, who spent years working as a technician before becoming an instructor, practical experience makes all the difference.
“We can tell them a process all day,” he said. “But then we say, ‘Let’s go do it.’ That’s when the light bulb comes on.”
Students remember lessons because they’ve physically solved problems instead of simply reading about them, he added. They also learn from instructors who understand the unexpected challenges that occur in real manufacturing settings.
Textbook examples can get students to a certain point, but The WorkSITE instructors can introduce the kinds of unusual troubleshooting situations technicians actually encounter on the job. That real-world perspective helps students transition into the workforce with greater confidence.
The WorkSITE doesn’t simply offer pre-packaged classes. It builds training around employer needs. One of its most successful partnerships has been with Graphic Packaging International, which needed to hire hundreds of employees as their operations expanded.
Rather than offering a standard electrical course, TSTC instructors visited one of the company’s facilities in Kalamazoo, Michigan, studying its operations before designing a customized two-week training program.
“We used a Skills Development Fund grant through the Texas Workforce Commission,” Darnell said, “and ended up training 167 of their new employees.”
The backgrounds of those trainees varied dramatically.
“Some had worked in convenience stores,” Darnell said. “Others had been hairstylists. Few arrived with traditional manufacturing experience. And they’re doing really, really well.”
The philosophy behind The WorkSITE is simple.
“We are a partner to industry,” she said. “We can train your current employee base — and we can also train those who may not be your current employees but would like to be. It is all driven by industry out here.”
Guided by an advisory committee of local manufacturers, business leaders and workforce partners, The WorkSITE was designed with industry at the table from the beginning. Committee leaders, including chair Jacob Cox of Fallas Automation and former Capstone Mechanical owner Rick Tullis, worked alongside TSTC to determine everything from the facility’s layout and equipment to the types of training local employers would need.
“They really sat down and asked, ‘What is this going to look like? What are we going to do? How’s it going to operate? What equipment do we need?’” Darnell said.
That partnership extends beyond preparing future employees. Companies also send experienced workers back for additional training, allowing technicians to upgrade their skills as manufacturing technologies continue evolving.
“There is always going to be the need for tradespeople,” Darnell said. “Always. Someone who has the technical skill set in electrical, whether that’s residential or commercial, that’s always going to be beneficial. AI is never going to replace a skill set like that. What we do a lot of out here is we are looking at the future.”
Noisy factories with dirty floors are becoming a thing of the past, Griffin said. That’s because of a concept called Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the digital transformation of manufacturing and industrial processes.
Today’s facilities rely increasingly on robotics, automation, sensors and interconnected production systems. One laboratory focuses specifically on that future, allowing students to learn how automated manufacturing systems communicate, troubleshoot robotic equipment and maintain increasingly sophisticated technologies.
“The goal now is everything is networked together,” Griffin said. “We have the automation and the robots. We can have an order come in, and the machine will start building the order when it comes in instead of continuously building. That’s what factories are being built to now — that Industry 4.0 standard.”
But instructors emphasize that understanding traditional industrial systems remains just as important.
Griffin describes the second lab as covering the “old school” side of industrial maintenance: fluid power, mechanical systems, process operations and traditional troubleshooting. Those skills still matter because technicians must first understand how equipment functions before determining whether a problem lies within an automated system or a mechanical component.
“You have to be able to troubleshoot on this side,” Griffin said, “to understand whether it’s an automation issue or whether your components aren’t working.”
The result is graduates capable of adapting as manufacturing continues to change.
Sparks fly inside The WorkSITE’s welding laboratory. Sixteen individual welding bays allow students to learn stick, MIG, TIG and flux-core welding using industry-grade equipment. Outside, additional grinding and cutting stations provide room for fabrication work, while instructors tailor lessons to meet employer specifications.
“If a company needs something customized, we can do it,” welding instructor Zach Cox said.
Students with no previous welding experience can begin developing practical skills within days.
“We can get someone that’s never turned on a machine in a one-week course to knowing how to troubleshoot them and what beads are supposed to look like,” Cox said.
Blueprint reading, fabrication, cutting techniques and safety become part of a training experience built around actual workplace expectations.
“Anything manufacturing needs,” Cox said, “we try our hardest to accommodate.”
For Gonzalez-Rodriguez, technical knowledge wasn’t the only thing he gained. Confidence proved equally valuable. During the seven-week industrial automation program, the pace was demanding.
“There was a lot of studying,” he said.
But when he struggled, Gonzalez-Rodriguez said instructors offered additional resources, recommended books and spent extra time helping him understand unfamiliar concepts.
“They treated me just as well as anyone else,” he said.
Instead of viewing his lack of experience as a disadvantage, instructors encouraged him to ask questions. That support paid off as he became the first member of his cohort to receive a job offer — before the program had even ended.
Today, his responsibilities at Walmart involve monitoring wastewater generated throughout the dairy processing operation, ensuring water leaving the facility meets environmental standards before entering the City of Waco’s treatment system.
The work is highly technical — and also meaningful.
“I’m making more than I was before,” he said. “And I definitely have the chance to get even more opportunities.”
His previous experience teaching job skills unexpectedly helped as well. Within months, his leadership background contributed to his promotion into a lead position.
The WorkSITE’s impact extends well beyond adult learners. Summer boot camps introduce high school students to careers in welding and advanced manufacturing. Some earn Smart Automation Certification Alliance credentials before graduating from high school. Others discover careers they never knew existed.
“It gives them confidence,” Darnell said. “It gives them curiosity.”
Students get to tour nearby manufacturing facilities, meet employers and experience modern production environments that often challenge outdated stereotypes.
“Manufacturing today isn’t what a lot of people picture,” Darnell said. “It’s a really clean, automated environment.”
Those early experiences can influence future career decisions while helping students understand the variety of opportunities available close to home, she said.
The WorkSITE also removes barriers that often prevent adults from pursuing additional education. Through grant-funded programs, students have received more than classroom instruction. Many have been provided with work boots, tool kits worth more than $1,300, weekly gas cards and industry-recognized certifications, Darnell said. That allows participants to focus on learning instead of worrying about transportation costs or purchasing expensive equipment before earning their first paycheck.
Approximately 80 percent of graduates from one accelerated industrial automation program have entered the workforce, with many employed by regional manufacturers. Heroes MAKE America participants — many transitioning from military service at Fort Hood — have experienced similar success.
Griffin, himself a military veteran, understands the challenges those students face.
“I know what they have been through and are going through,” he said. “It really is a culture shock going from Army life to civilian life. It is totally different. Some people haven’t had a job interview in 20 years.”
The program addresses technical training while also helping veterans rebuild resumes, practice interviews and adjust to civilian workplaces.
“We have a 93 percent placement rate,” Griffin said.
Although The WorkSITE exists because of growing industry, Darnell says the building’s true purpose has never been about equipment or enrollment numbers. It’s about people.
“The success of this building and what our goal is here is the success of the students after they leave,” she said. “That is 100 percent what it comes down to.”
That philosophy is easy to understand through the eyes of graduates like Gonzalez-Rodriguez. When asked what advice he would give someone thinking about joining a technical program, he doesn’t mention grades or mechanical aptitude — he’s all about attitude.
“I would say definitely go for it,” he said. “The worst that can happen is you learn something new.”
He believes determination matters more than previous experience.
“If you’re willing to work and willing to admit that you don’t know things,” he said, “you will definitely make it.”
His own journey proves it. A year ago, he couldn’t identify many of the tools inside an industrial maintenance lab. Today, he is helping operate one of Central Texas’ largest new manufacturing facilities while building a long-term career in an industry that needs skilled workers.
The WorkSITE is evidence that when education is flexible, instructors are invested and employers become partners, workforce development turns into opportunity for everyone.
