Higher education is losing its luster. Once a beacon of opportunity, the traditional four-year degree has seen a steep decline in public confidence, dropping from 60% of Americans expressing strong faith in 2015 to just 36% in 2024. Young men, in particular, are opting out, with only 41% of high school-educated men aged 18–24 enrolling in universities.
Meanwhile, Texas faces a looming workforce crisis, with projected shortages of 7,000 plumbers, 4,500 HVAC technicians, and 10,000 electricians by 2030. In this shifting landscape, the Texas State Technical College System (TSTC) offers a proven solution: technical training that meets the state’s urgent workforce needs and delivers high-paying jobs with minimal debt.
Unlike traditional universities, TSTC focuses exclusively on technical education, aligning its programs with the demands of Texas’ dynamic economy. Since the pandemic, enrollment in technical degrees across Texas has increased 7%, exceeding pre-COVID peaks.
TSTC, with its ten campuses, has been at the forefront of this boom, training students for high-demand fields like advanced manufacturing, welding, and oil and gas. Graduates earn family-sustaining wages exceeding $50,000 annually—while carrying little to no debt, a stark contrast to the $37,000 average debt burden of four-year degree holders. This model is critical as Texas grapples with a skills gap that threatens its economic competitiveness.
TSTC’s success stems from its unique outcomes-based funding model, a gold standard in higher education. Unlike other institutions, which are rewarded for enrollment or degrees conferred, TSTC is funded based on the economic value its graduates bring to the workforce. If a program’s graduates fail to secure jobs with a positive return on investment, TSTC phases out the program, ensuring taxpayer dollars are invested in results: skilled workers in high-demand roles. This approach has made TSTC a national leader, with 82% of its graduates employed or continuing education within six months of graduation.
However, TSTC’s ability to meet Texas’ growing workforce needs is constrained by a critical limitation: funding. Unlike other public colleges, TSTC lacks taxing authority, meaning it cannot raise bonds to fund new facilities, upgrade equipment, or expand campuses. This restriction hampers its capacity to keep pace with industry demands, such as training more technicians for Texas’ energy sector or equipping labs for automation technologies. Without stable, long-term funding, TSTC risks falling behind, and Texas risks losing its edge in workforce development.
A dedicated endowment TSTC is the solution. This strategic investment would provide a sustainable funding stream to build training facilities, hire industry-expert instructors, and expand programs in high-growth fields. Unlike annual appropriations, an endowment ensures predictability, allowing TSTC to plan for the future and respond nimbly to evolving market needs. For example, an endowment could fund a new campus in underserved regions or modernize labs to train students on new systems of construction, directly addressing Texas’ technician shortages.
Opponents may argue that other two-year colleges deserve similar support, but TSTC is fundamentally different. It is Texas’ only public college system with a state mandate to focus solely on technical education and workforce outcomes, operating without the safety net of local tax revenue. Its track record proves its worth: TSTC graduates power Texas’ economic engine, from manufacturing plants to the energy sector. Consider Raya Rabold, whose story was highlighted by Governor Greg Abbott in his 2025 State of the State address. She began taking welding classes at Jarrell High School before earning a certificate from TSTC. Today, her work has been seen on shows such as “Yellowstone” and she is continuing to pursue additional certifications at TSTC’s with minimal debt. When her training is completed, she will be entering a career that pays as much as $85,000.
Creating an endowment for TSTC is not about merely funding buildings or machines; it’s about investing in opportunity, mobility, and prosperity for generations of Texans. Stories like Rabold’s demonstrate powerfully why Texas must act now. By establishing a dedicated endowment, we can ensure TSTC continues transforming lives and meeting the workforce needs of our fast-growing state. The future of Texas’ economy depends on it.