September 29, 2026 The rapid demand for manufacturing education, the need for expanded facilities and faculty pipelines, and a community college’s pivotal role in supporting regional manufacturing were the focus of a recent SME Insights podcast. Greg Jones, director of strategic programs and partnerships at SME, spoke with Adam Palacios, dean at Tyler Junior College (TJC), during the podcast, which took place at the SME Mission Critical Workforce 2030 exhibit at the Manufacturing Technology Series Southwest in Dallas. Located in Tyler, Texas, TJC is one of the state’s largest community colleges, with more than 20,000 enrolled students. It has two campuses, one of which houses critical manufacturing programs, including HVAC, welding, automotive, industrial maintenance, electrical, electronic controls and energy systems. Growing enrollment as an MI-WPC member TJC is part of the SME Manufacturing Imperative - Workforce Pipeline Coalition (MI-WPC), a national initiative that began in 2024. As Jones explained, “Twenty-five total community colleges around the country are involved in that pipeline challenge. The goal is to increase enrollments across the country by 75,000 students — approximately 1,000 new students at each one of the 25 schools over a three-year period of time.” According to Palacios, TJC had record enrollment — 12,789 for-credit students — during the semester just prior to the Manufacturing Technology Series Southwest event. Even more significantly, there was a 19% enrollment increase within TJC’s skilled trades program. “And that was very intentional on our part,” said Palacios, adding, “We're trying to really drive that growth.” While the college celebrates the success of its rapid student enrollment increase, it also faces some related challenges. For example, TJC needs more physical space where students can learn. “We have renovations underway that we've actually begun, and we're going to be doing it in phases,” noted Palacio. “And we have a lot more plans to expand that capacity within the next few years.” Another challenge that TJC is facing is the necessity to turn some students away from their programs of interest. “Whenever we opened enrollment this past semester, the vast majority of our skilled trades programs were maxed out within two weeks,” said Palacio. “So we have waiting lists of students, and we're trying our best to ensure that we can meet that demand and not have to turn any students away.” Nontraditional faculty recruitment and development According to Palacios, another consistent challenge is the shortage of instructors for scaling post-secondary skilled trades programs — a dilemma that was shared across the board by manufacturers participating in the Manufacturing Imperative - Workforce Pipeline Coalition. To meet the growing demand for manufacturing courses, TJC has employed creative strategies to recruit new faculty. According to Palacios, one approach is recruiting retired industry professionals who say, “I tried the retirement thing; it’s not for me,” after a year. Recruiting retired individuals to pursue a second career has helped increase the college’s pipeline of qualified instructors, said Palacios. And he’s impressed with their work. “I think they are some of the best professionals out there, because not only do they have years of experience, but they have proven that they know what it takes, both inside the industry as well as the classroom, to inspire that next generation to take that leap of faith and pursue this career.” According to Palacios, Tyler Junior College is developing a “grow your own” faculty pipeline featuring three pathways to support faculty recruitment and development: Credentialing experienced industry professionals with no educational background Training industry professionals with no educational background to teach through intensive summer programs Preparing current students or lab assistants to become faculty after gaining industry experience Aligning with regional industry demands As he walked the floor at the Manufacturing Technology Series Southwest, Palacios said he was reminded of the need for TJC to continuously engage with industry stakeholders to provide the most relevant educational experiences and outcomes for students. “That's really one important aspect of TJC,” said Palacios. “We want to remain at the forefront of business and industry, so it already serves as that revolving door for current and new businesses to come through our doorway. We want to talk with them, ensure that we're meeting their needs.” TJC works very closely with its local economic development corporation (EDC) because new businesses approach the EDC about the skills of the region’s workforce. This requires strategically planning not only the curriculum, but also the institution’s equipment and facilities, to accurately reflect what students will encounter in the field after graduation. As Palacios said, “We try to ensure that we have the latest technology, and we want to make sure that we're teaching not only what's current. What do we have in the next five to 10 years to ensure those students are successful then as well?” To learn more about the Manufacturing Imperative - Workforce Pipeline Coalition, click here.To learn more, watch the full interview below.
