Burleson Mayor Ken Shetter announced the launch of Burleson Works, a program of the Burleson Opportunity Fund and the Burleson Economic Development Corporation.
Burleson Works will focus training in technical fields such as welding, engineering, machinery, software development, industrial maintenance, automotive and more. Each year, Burleson Works industrial partners will be surveyed to determine what positions will be vacant in the upcoming 12-to-24 months.
Scholarships will be provided to applicants based on the specific needs of the partners. The Burleson Works scholarship is privately funded through the program’s industry partners as well as the Burleson EDC.
“Having awarded more than 900 scholarships, the Burleson Opportunity Fund has been great for families and has been an important component of our very successful economic development program,” Shetter said in a news release. “Development of the Burleson Works program as an extension of the Burleson Opportunity Fund is the logical next step.”
If selected, the applicant will begin training through one of the program’s educational partners, then the pilot program will pair Burleson residents with local companies that have positions to fill and then provide the resident with the technical training needed to step into that role.
Currently, the program will partner with the following entities:
· Chicken Express Distribution Center
· AirForce Airguns manufacturer
· LKQ Corporation
· Wagner-Smith Equipment Company
· F-Wave
· KWS Manufacturing
· Dunaway Associates
· Campbell’s Auto Body
· Thomas Conveyor, Inc.
· Hayes & Stolz Industrial Manufacturing Company
· Basden Steel Corporation
· RenWeb
· United Cooperative Services
· Hill College
· Texas State Technical College
· Tarrant County College
· University of Texas at Arlington
· Burleson ISD
· Burleson Chamber of Commerce
· Texas Workforce Solutions
“Partnering with the City and local colleges for the Burleson Works program will help to create a stronger talent pool within the Burleson area that we can employ,” said Daniel C. DeJarnette, F-Wave vice president of operations, in the release. “We are a startup business with aggressive growth plans within the City of Burleson and it cannot be achieved without the right individuals on our team to push it forward.”
The program is open residents within the city limits of Burleson. Starting Jan. 1, 2018. Documents are due March 15 and interviews will take place between March 15 and April 30. Scholarship recipients will be notified by May 15.
Interested participants can complete an application at www.burlesonworks.com.