Paris Junior College Lands $362,697 JET Grant to Train HVAC Mechanics
Paris Junior College will buy new training equipment for a 40-student HVAC program with $362,697 in state grant money, a direct investment in the local trades workforce.
On October 12, 2026, Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Workforce Commission announced 84 Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants totaling more than $20 million for career and technical education equipment across Texas. Paris Junior College received $362,697 to purchase equipment to train 40 students as HVAC mechanics and installers, the latest state workforce investment in Lamar County.
The grant follows a July JET round in which Paris ISD and Paris Junior College together secured more than $660,000 for vocational nursing and industrial machinery training. Combined, the two rounds show a public pipeline building trades capacity in heating, cooling, and industrial maintenance, the skills most in demand by the region's industrial and commercial employers.
What trades investment means for commercial property
Workforce is the quiet side of commercial real estate value. Manufacturers and service employers locate where labor is available, and every training seat PJC adds improves the county's pitch to site selectors. The region has been making that pitch with results: Ametsa Packaging expanded with a new bottling line in early 2026, Fusion Manufacturing opened a new agri-equipment facility in Lamar County, and a large queue of data center interconnection requests sits in the ERCOT pipeline, all of which need skilled local labor to build and operate.
HVAC and mechanical skills in particular feed directly into building operations, which keeps the county's commercial inventory serviceable and leaseable. For a flex asset like 1905 E Price St, a deeper local trades base means faster tenant improvements, lower maintenance costs, and easier repositioning when a new operator takes over.
Sources: Office of the Texas Governor and Texas Workforce Commission, "Governor Abbott Announces Over $20 Million In Career Training Grants Across Texas," October 12, 2026. KSST Radio, "East Texas Schools Secure Major Career Training Grants," October 2026. Texas Workforce Commission JET grant program materials. Accessed October 2026.
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