HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is known for giving students scholarships, but there’s another competition helping teens find jobs.

Working with tools like this is something Jose Deleon loves. “I like working outside,” Deleon explained. “I like working with my hands. Looking at numbers.”

Deleon is a pipefitter. A career he broke into after something he learned about five years ago.

“It helped me to visualize the future,” Deleon said. “What I was going to be next. What’s coming for me.”

Deleon participated in a high school industrial competition. A hands-on experience that took place at an event he never considered.

“Before that, I didn’t,” Deleon recalled. “I only thought about the animals and the games.”

Five years ago, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo launched an industrial competition. It started with 150 students.

Now, it involves more than 500 students from nearly 20 schools from across the state.

“We saw a need in the industrial construction industry that we needed pipefitters, welders, electricians, and project control folks,” Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo committee chair vice president Robert Hodge said.

The rodeo is known for student scholarships. The industrial competition offers something different.

“We also see a vocational need as well,” Hodge explained. “Not all kids want to go to college.”

The rodeo supplies students with tools, mentors, and industrial experts. The committee is made up of 175 volunteers.

They work with students for months before the rodeo. During the process, seniors can find work.

So far, more than 100 students have landed employment, including Deleon who said that result was better than any competition ribbon.

“We didn’t have the first place marker,” Deleon said. “We tried.”

Our ABC13 who’s hiring job fair with Workforce Solutions on Thursday will look closer at these careers. You can watch on ABC13’s 24/7 stream starting at 10 a.m.

You can also get a job in person. Nearly 50 employers will be at NRG Center Thursday at 11 a.m.

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