HOBBS, N.M. – For two years, the Career and Technical Education Center of Hobbs, also known as CTECH, has allowed hundreds of students to get a head start on a career after graduating from high school. 

“Ever since I was little, I liked construction and building stuff. Working my hands and seeing the outcome of what you build it just, feels good,” said Elias Orozco, a student at CTECH.

Orozco is graduating with his Osha 10 certification and was gifted a tool kit to continue with construction after he graduates. 

CTECH allows high school students to pick one of six pathways to get a head start in an industry once they graduate high school.

“We’ve got a number of industries, a number of employers here that are hiring our students. They’re hiring our students out of high school. So why not capitalize on that time that they’re in high school and prepare them for that workforce, so that our employers have an employee that’s more prepared to go to work for them,” said Gene Strickland, the superintendent for Hobbs municipal schools.

CTECH offers energy, manufacturing, transportation, culinary hospitality, information technology, and construction architecture. Depending on what pathway students choose, they get dual credit, certifications, and a step into well-paid jobs.

Strickland says it’s because of partnerships within the community that they’ve been able to succeed as a school.

“It’s my hope that in ten years, CTECH looks different, that there are different programs here because we’ve met the needs of our employers to say, I don’t need that many more of whatever great than what else do we need? Because there will always be needs, and we will continue to evolve to meet those needs of our community,” said Strickland.