Gov. DeSantis announces $89M investment in Florida workforce education

Total of $3.5B marked in statewide career and technical education spending

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks in Gainesville on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Copyright 2022 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced an $89 million investment in career and technical education (CTE) to support workforce training initiatives at state colleges and school districts statewide.

Speaking at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, the governor also marked a total of $3.5B spent on CTE initiatives in Florida since he took office in 2019.

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The governor said $10 million will go toward creating CTE charter schools, where DeSantis said high school students will be able to gain credentials in high-demand fields while earning their GED.

“When students from these new charter schools graduate, they will be prepared to join the workforce if they so choose with no debt and will be able to earn very, very good salaries, some as high as six figures in certain fields,” DeSantis said.

The governor said similar awards will go to Northwest Florida State College, Tallahassee Community College, St. Petersburg College and Miami Dade College.

Above the high school level, funding will be expanded for post-secondary CTE, including $26.5 million to expand career dual enrollment and S.T.E.M.-related programs, $20 million to accelerate cybersecurity and I.T. career pathways, $12 million to increase registered apprenticeship programs, $12 million for educator resources and data-driven support for students and employers, and $9 million for “critical workforce needs” such as “nursing supply chains and logistics and law enforcement,” the governor said.

“With today’s announcement of the nearly $100 million, we have invested — from January of 2019 to the present — $3.5 billion in workforce education across the state,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis presented Santa Fe College President Dr. Paul Brodie with a symbolic check for $3.5B made out to “Florida’s Future Workforce.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks in Gainesville on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Copyright 2022 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Brodie said that Santa Fe College will use the funding to establish a charter school with an industry partner that will provide students with internship opportunities and enable them to graduate with multiple credentials.

“It enables us to reach down to the ninth grade and expose the youth to opportunities,” Brodie said. “It’s a proven (national) model that we will bring here, where we’re working to get that student their high school diploma, their associate’s degree and a minimum of two industry certifications so that that student can decide whether they want to go into the workforce or if they want to continue their education.”

Florida Department of Education Senior Chancellor Henry Mack said the state is reverse engineering its curriculum to meet business needs.

“That’s what’s so phenomenal about this whole venture is that we are providing economic and social mobility for so many residents, but we’re also thinking about economic development and meeting businesses’ and industries’ needs,” Mack said. “And it’s not just in words, that $3.5 billion check to my right represents the investment since 2019, it’s unprecedented.”


About the Author:

Brandon, a UCF grad, joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021. Before joining News 6, Brandon worked at WDBO.

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