Texas schools may shift their focus to a new type of learning that helps students enter the workforce after high school.
You name the industry, and they're dealing with a lack of workers and no real pipeline to get them.
It's why Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told a packed auditorium of business leaders around North Texas that schools will need to step up and significantly increase the training to help deliver new bodies to the workforce.
Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools, or P-TECH, immerses students in science and technology fields and gets them a two-year degree and on-the-job training in specific disciplines.
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Morath said P-TECH is the way of the future for Texas education and that no one did it better than Dallas ISD.
Dr. Usamah Rodgers was in charge of Dallas ISD's P-TECH program and is bringing it to DeSoto where she's now superintendent.
"What P-TECH does is take the best of the early college experience, exposing students to high school and college at the same time. But there's also a layer of industry experience and certificates," said Rodgers.
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We're already seeing an expansion of P-TECH in other districts around the state, like a course in Grand Prairie that pairs students with a heavy equipment company.
"I started off in the engineering program and jumped into welding and realized I like working with my hands, and I did this internship and been here ever since," said Luis Huerta, who participated in the program.
Morath said in addition to continuing to climb and rebuild academic gains from the pandemic, helping students see the need for employees in high-paying tech fields is paramount.
