TEXAS CITY, Texas -- In a job market where workers are pummeled with one bad report after another, there aren’t too many complaints to be heard in Texas City.

“I’m working my guys 50 to 60 hours a week to try to keep up with this ‘horrible economy,’” David Vasichko, a machining manager with A&A Machine, quipped.

A&A Machine has been grinding, welding and cutting since 1957.

Fifty-one years later, there is no shortage of work – just a shortage of skilled workers.

In fact, A&A has so much work to be done, they’re searching for experienced machinists as far away as Chicago.

“We need skilled craftsmen,” Vasichko said.

The sounds of a so-called horrible economy are also echoing through the halls of the College of the Mainland in a class called “Process Technology.”

It’s a mix of lectures and hands-on experience to help students get jobs as plant operators at local refineries.

A two-year Associate’s Degree can give students like Chanceya Caldwell a big starting salary -- $60,000 a year, plus overtime.

“The need is very high, so the companies are desperate,” teacher Jerry Duncan said.

Some of Duncan’s graduates are even earning six figures.

The oil industry is booming, the baby boomers are retiring, and the industry expects 50,000 jobs will become available in the next five years.

Add up every community college program like the one at the College of the Mainland, and there are only 5,000 students in that pipeline right now.

That means chances of landing a job are good – really good.  The College of the Mainland places over 90 percent of its graduates in their first high-paying job.

“That’s pretty good for me. I’ve always worked for near minimum wage all through high school. So I’m pretty excited,” student Travis Tholen said.

“The thing it does is change their life. When they’re going from not making much money to making a good chunk of money, it does change their life,” Duncan said.

Oil-related businesses are hoping to change as many lives as they can, and change them fast.

A recent Rice University / Ernst & Young study showed that 88 percent of top oil and gas companies are worried a worker shortage will slow down growth.

So the message in Texas City is clear:

“If you are a skilled craftsman, welder or machinist, come see us,” Vasichko said.