13 Texas Colleges Get $3.7 Million to Build Job-Training Programs
New Perkins Leadership Grants will help community and technical colleges add programs for in-demand jobs, hire instructors and train inmates for life after prison.
Thirteen Texas community and technical colleges will share $3.7 million in Perkins Leadership Grants to build career and technical education programs, Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week.
"Texas' skilled workforce is critical to our state's economic success," Abbott said. "With these grants, community and technical colleges can develop or redesign programs for in-demand occupations and recruit and retain instructors to train the next generation of the workforce."
Who gets what
The 2026-2027 awards come in three categories.
Emerging and current high-demand credentials: Lamar Institute of Technology, $254,600; Southwest Texas College, $293,892; Tarrant County College District, $299,929; Texas Southmost College, $298,305; and Texas State Technical College, $278,739.
Recruiting and keeping CTE instructors: Del Mar College, $206,000; El Paso Community College District, $299,638; Lamar State College-Orange, $297,250; San Jacinto College District, $299,991; Tyler Junior College, $300,000; and Western Texas College, $300,000.
Prison education and reentry: Central Texas College, $300,000; and Lee College, $297,144.
Why instructors matter
One category pays to recruit and keep teachers. The governor's office says the grants are meant to help colleges recruit and retain instructors for in-demand programs.
Texas Higher Education Commissioner Wynn Rosser said the grants help colleges "recruit the best CTE instructors, ensuring students get the quality training they need to secure high-skill, high-wage careers that fill critical needs in our economy."
A new program
The Perkins Leadership Grants replace two older programs, the Perkins Field Based Innovation Program and the Perkins Excellence in Access and Opportunity Program, which ended Aug. 31, 2026. The governor's office said the change refocuses the grants on the latest labor market needs.
Work is honorable
Not every good career needs a four-year degree. A trade learned at a community college can support a family, and a skill learned behind bars can give a man a real chance to work instead of returning to prison. Employers keep saying they need trained workers. Projects like the Lockheed Martin expansion in Grand Prairie will need them, and our report on Texas job growth shows where hiring is strong.
Hero photo: Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (license).
