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In a powerful demonstration of collaboration between education and industry, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County (WSTC) recently completed a groundbreaking Teacher Externship Program by connecting educators directly with local employers to ensure classroom instruction better reflects the skills and expectations of today’s workforce.
Funded by the Texas Workforce Commission, the program placed 74 Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers and counselors from 12 Tarrant County school districts into 20-hour externships with 37 local employers representing high-demand sectors such as Aerospace, Business Administration, Construction, Healthcare, Hospitality, Logistics, and Manufacturing. Together, these educators completed more than 1,460 hours of on-site learning.
Participating districts included:
Through this immersive, five-day experience, educators stepped into the fast-paced environments their students will one day enter—observing operations, learning about in-demand skills, and collaborating with industry professionals to reshape their curriculum and inform students on what opportunities in these industries looks like. The program will prove to be wide-reaching as it is estimated each participating educator typically teaches more than 100 students annually. That means over 5,000 students will benefit from the insight gained through this initiative.
Numerous Fort Worth Chamber member companies played a vital role in hosting teachers across industries, reinforcing the Chamber's ongoing commitment to aligning workforce pipelines with employer needs. Their involvement exemplifies how local business leadership can directly impact the classroom and help prepare the next generation of professionals.
“One of the biggest challenges in-classroom educators face is preparing students for the constantly changing workplaces,” said Mike Coffey, Fort Worth Chamber Chair of the Talent Committee. “Partnerships like these externships help our teachers better prepare our emerging workforce to be successful, regardless of whether they continue their formal education or enter the workforce after high school.”
The program is a result of a strategic partnership between Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and InterLink, Inc., and complements similar initiatives led by Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas and Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas. For a full list of participating businesses and more information on the program, visit the Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County website.
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