Online Resources

Check out these websites for information about the latest hot career fields in Southeast Texas. There is great information here for educators, parents, and students.

PETROCHEMICALS/MANUFACTURING

  • Community College Petrochemical Initiative – Wherever you live or work along the upper Texas Gulf Coast, you’ll find state-of-the-industry workforce training at your nearby community college! The Community College Petrochemical Initiative, funded with a grant by ExxonMobil, consists of community colleges and school districts in the greater Houston and Texas Gulf Coast area, each providing skills training for the region’s businesses and industries.

  • Manufacture Your Future – Utilize these free resources for 6th- 12th grade classrooms to develop key STEM and critical thinking skills in your students. All resources are aligned to national education standards.

  • Building a Manufacturing Talent Pipeline – How to Embed Industry Certifications to Improve Outcomes in Technical Education from the Manufacturing Institute

  • Developing Skilled Workers – A toolkit for educators and workforce professionals on manufacturing certifications from the Manufacturing Institute

  • Skills Gap – The skills gap in U.S. manufacturing 2020 and beyond from the Manufacturing Institute

  • What is Manufacturing? – Manufacturing careers offer real opportunities to do work that saves lives, puts men on Mars, and creates our quality of life. 

  • Boilermaker/Pipefitter Interview – Read about Mason Sloan and his career with Jacobs.

  • “Once I became a Welder, everything changed.” – This is an interview with James “Cajun” Folse.

MARITIME

  • 100 Jobs at the Port of Houston – Graphic information showing current jobs available at the Port.

  • Adopt-A-Ship – (Grades 5-8): Each ship involved in this program is adopted by a classroom each school year. During the year, the class and the ship’s crew correspond and share experiences. The plan fosters interests in geography, history, math, science, transportation, foreign and domestic trade, and English. It affords children an outlet for natural interests in the sea and teaches them something of the steadfast character of the men and women of the American Merchant Marine.

  • Sam Houston Boat Tour – This is a great field trip opportunity! Travel through the Houston Ship Channel, a 52-mile man-made wonder connecting Houston to the Gulf of Mexico. Among the many things you will see on this tour include cargo from all over the country and the world being loaded and unloaded, hard-working men and women operating cargo-moving equipment, and many different types of wharves, terminals, and other facilities that are all part of port operations.

INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION

  • Construction Maintenance and Education Foundation (CMEF) – The Construction & Maintenance Education Foundation is the vehicle through which industry and craft professionals in the Houston area receive formal training. Our goal is to recruit new entrants and retain existing workers through a variety of programs focused on assessment, training, and continuing education. We believe that a community approach to training is fundamental to developing a skilled and educated craft workforce within the entire industry.

  • Specialty Construction Careers – Find out about the Gulf Coast region’s rapidly expanding industrial market with a growing need for craft trade workers.

  • “Veterans Learning Critical Skills for Good Paying Jobs” – From Construction Citizen.

CAREER INTEREST INVENTORIES

  • Counselors – Dive in and explore these unparalleled resources designed to stimulate interest in the many exciting new careers in advanced manufacturing. Resources were developed with guidance from the American School Counselors Association (ASCA), ensuring that the materials were developed to best serve school counselors.

  • Texas Reality Check – Don’t know how much money you will need to earn in the future? Don’t know which occupation to choose? No problem. Check out this website to see what your future holds! Brought to you by the Texas Workforce Commission & the Texas Education Agency.

  • Interest Profiler – Helps students find out what their interests are and how they relate to the world of work.

  • Choices Planner – Thinking about the future? Explore jobs and careers with Choices Planner on the Workforce Solutions website. Follow the easy directions to log in to Choices Planner.

SOFT SKILLS/RESUME/INTERVIEW

  • Interview Attire – Are you ready for a job interview? What you wear and how you present yourself to an employer matters a great deal. Do you think these people are dressed appropriately for their interviews? From Workforce Solutions.

  • CV Tips – Find information for your whole job search: cover letter tips, interview techniques, job search strategies, and career planning, as well as free resume/CV examples, templates, and advice.

  • Job Mob – Make your resume stand out with a FREE account on this site.

  • Sample Resume Template – Do-it-yourself HTML resume.

  • Preparing for a Job Interview – Questions, answers, and tips.

  • Job Hero – The best ten resume samples by job title so that you can find the perfect words for your resume.

JOB MARKET INFORMATION

  • O*Net Online – Get detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by jobseekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more

  • Help Wanted Online – See what jobs are hot in your area! Sponsored by the Texas Workforce Commission.

  • Texas Cares – Your online source for job information in Texas.

  • Success in the New Economy – This YouTube video helps to understand today's preparation for tomorrow’s labor market realities. The end result is a compelling case for students to explore career choices early, make informed decisions when declaring their college education goal, and consider technical skill acquisition, real-world application, and academics (career technical programs) in tandem with a classic education. This balanced approach to life and learning results in a well-educated and employed workforce.

LESSON PLANS

  • When I Grow Up – (PK-5) TEKS-aligned career education lessons for grades pre-K through 5 students in the Houston-Galveston region from Workforce Solutions.

  • When I Grow Up – (6-8) TEKS-aligned career education lessons for middle school students in the Houston-Galveston region from Workforce Solutions.

  • When I Grow Up – (9-12) Career education lessons for High School in the Houston-Galveston region from Workforce Solutions.