Having asked schools in the Florida College System to offer four-year degrees at a cost of $10,000 or less to help build the state’s workforce, Gov. Rick Scott is now turning to technical and careers schools across the Sunshine State with his new “Ready, Set, Work” challenge.
On Wednesday, Scott launched a challenge to Florida Technical Colleges and Centers, hoping to better prepare the Sunshine State’s residents to enter a changing workforce.
“I am challenging 48 Florida Technical Colleges and Centers to issue a guarantee to businesses that their workers are ready to work on the very first day on the job or they will be retrained for free,” Scott announced on Wednesday. “When I talk to business owners, the number one thing they ask about when considering moving jobs to Florida is our education system. If Florida is going to overtake Texas, our number one competitor for jobs, we must be home to the most skilled workforce in the nation, and our technical colleges and centers are key to helping Florida become first in worker training and job growth.”
Scott called on the technical colleges and centers to accept the challenge by the middle of January when the Legislature starts its regular session.
Later on Wednesday, 44 of the state’s 48 technical colleges and centers agreed to meet Scott’s challenge.
“The ‘Ready, Set, Work’ Technical Center Guarantee Challenge is a tremendous opportunity for the students of Florida; they can train in a program with the confidence that their skills upon graduation will be put to immediate and effective use,” insisted Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. “I applaud Gov. Scott for establishing a benchmark which will continue to improve the reputation of Florida’s workforce, both locally and nationally.”
Bill McCormick, the director of Fort Myers Technical College and the president of the Leadership Division of the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education, showcased what technical colleges and career centers across the Sunshine State do for the workforce.
“We stand ready, willing, and able to deliver on this promise,” McCormick said. “Many of our institutions have had a similar policy in place as a part of our standard practice and we welcome the opportunity to expand it state-wide. Our schools serve as a powerful network of training resources that can quickly improve and grow Florida’s workforce. We provide a return on investment that minimizes student cost and time and maximizes the use of public education dollars. Our ‘Career in a Year’ focus allows students to quickly and efficiently enroll, get trained, and go to work…that is what we are all about.”
Last month, Scott called for $20 million to fund technical centers and made the case for why they play an important role in shaping Florida’s economy.
“Our technical centers do a great job preparing students for a career in just one year,” Scott said in the middle of October. “We know the workers of tomorrow are in our classrooms today – and advanced workforce training at our technical centers will help our students receive the skills they need to be competitive in the global market. It will also attract companies to our state looking for a high-skilled workforce.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
