On Tuesday, three hundred students from Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) visited Tulsa Tech’s Lemley Memorial Campus to explore skilled‑trade careers. The event was part of the Be Pro Be Proud Mobile Workshop, a full‑size tractor‑trailer equipped with virtual‑reality stations and hands‑on simulators for construction, manufacturing, transportation and utilities occupations.
Local partnership fuels career readiness
“Our goal at Tulsa Public Schools is for every student to be prepared and confident for life after high school,” said Dr. Ebony Johnson, superintendent of TPS. She highlighted that more than half of the district’s 2026 graduates have already earned post‑secondary credit or a credential, a figure that continues to rise thanks to strategic partnerships with Tulsa Tech and Tulsa Community College.
“With today’s Mobile Workshop event, Be Pro Be Proud and Meta are supporting our students’ ability to have real, hands‑on experience in a variety of technical career fields. We are thrilled to be part of this special day,” Dr. Johnson added.
Hands‑on learning in a moving classroom
The mobile workshop traveled to Tulsa as one of ten stops on the program’s 10th‑anniversary tour, a tour that Meta has backed across its data‑center communities. Inside the trailer, students rotated through virtual‑reality simulations that let them practice welding, heavy‑equipment operation, fiber‑optic installation and other high‑skill tasks without leaving the truck.
Randy Craven, executive director of student affairs and partner school relations at Tulsa Tech, said, “When students explore a career in the same building where they can train for it, the path stops being hypothetical and becomes achievable.”
Meta’s broader investment in Oklahoma’s workforce
Meta’s commitment extends beyond the mobile workshop. In April, the company announced a $400,000 gift to Tulsa Tech and Tulsa Community College to launch a cross‑institutional workforce‑development program and learning lab focused on digital‑infrastructure careers. The partnership aims to graduate more than 200 students each year with training in cooling‑system simulation, fiber‑optic networking, structured cabling, artificial‑intelligence and data‑analytics.
Andrew Parker, executive director of Be Pro Be Proud, noted that employers project about 1.7 million openings in technical professions annually through 2035, and that pipeline must begin in high school. “Oklahoma plays a critical role in meeting that need,” he said, adding that the program now operates in ten states and continues to grow.
Meta’s local data‑center ties
Meta broke ground on its first Oklahoma data center in east Tulsa earlier this year. Tara Tenorio, community engagement manager at Meta, explained, “At Meta, we believe the future is for everyone, and that belief starts in the communities we call home. More than 1,000 construction workers will be on site at peak construction of the Meta Tulsa Data Center. We’re investing alongside our local education partners so students growing up here can explore careers like those and build the skills to pursue them.”
Pathways from seventh grade to certification
TPS students can begin career‑technical education in seventh grade, then earn industry certifications and college credit through Tulsa Tech and Tulsa Community College. The mobile workshop experience is designed to show students the tangible steps from classroom learning to real‑world employment, reinforcing the district’s focus on preparing youth for the state’s growing technical‑job market.
Community leaders, educators and industry partners praised the event as a model for how public‑private collaboration can equip the next generation with the skills needed for Oklahoma’s expanding technical workforce.
Original reporting: KTUL 8 (Sinclair) – local — read the source article.
