South Texas College and the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office have partnered up to a new police training academy.

It's called the Flex Academy Police Training program.

Flex Academy is unique because all the current students under the partnership are current jailers in Hidalgo County who are studying to become a full-fledged police officers.

This is the first time this program is being offered to people who are interested in advancing their careers in law enforcement.

The current class of 14 cadets kicked off last week. It gives students the chance to study part-time, while still working their full-time jobs as jailers with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

A chance that STC Program Director Victor Valdez Jr. says is definitely worth it to get more jobs filled with law enforcement agencies.

"There is always going to be gaps within law enforcement, within the field, people are moving on. Some people move onto federal agencies, people move onto state agencies. So there will always be that gap locally for police agencies," Valdez said.

Students in this program who say it's opening doors for them to pursue their passion.

"I think it's a great idea, just for the people who can't quit their job because they have a full-time job, so it's nice that they are [flexible], that they can choose a nighttime class or go all day if they need to," STC student Robert Little said.

The students will be studying for about a year to complete their training.

While this session of classes already started, there will be an open house showcasing all types of classes available.

The open house is scheduled for Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is open to the entire community.