FSCJ’s Florida Apprenticeship Grant Receives National Recognition
For Immediate Release: December 10, 2019
Contact: Jill Johnson, (904) 632-5016
FSCJ’s Florida Apprenticeship Grant Receives National Recognition
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida State College at Jacksonville’s (FSCJ) Florida Apprenticeship Grant was recognized nationally as one of the top 15 performing American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) grantees. Led by FSCJ, along with consortium members St. Petersburg College and Broward College, the Florida Apprenticeship Grant Program is helping to address the state’s workforce challenges related to the vast number of retirees and the skills gap that they will leave behind.
The program promotes the expansion of apprenticeships in manufacturing and cross-sector construction and trades occupations, health care and information technology. Over the course of the five-year grant, the program aimed to serve 1,000 workers. Currently 1,245 workers are being served with ten months remaining in the grant cycle.
“We are proud to support the work of the American Apprenticeship Initiative through the Florida Apprenticeship Grant program,” said College President John Avendano, Ph.D. “By engaging with various industries who welcome apprenticeship programs, our representatives have seen great success in establishing similar programs for other high-need occupations that have not traditionally explored the opportunities that apprenticeships may provide for their workforce.”
Each of the top grantees will be featured in the AAI Final Report, which is intended to help other apprenticeship program administrators learn from the institutions’ successes. FSCJ Program Manager Dr. Melanie Ferren and Program Coordinator Cheryl Duff will participate in the writing of the report. They will travel to Washington, D.C. to represent the Florida Apprenticeship Grant in a full-day workshop on January 9, 2020, where they will meet with the other top performers to share strategies and success stories designed to promote future growth in the world of apprenticeships.
To learn more about the Florida Apprenticeship Grant, visit https://www.fscj.edu/academics/workforce-education/grant-programs/florida-apprenticeship-grant.
About FSCJ
Known as “the community’s college,” Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) exists to provide valuable, high-quality learning opportunities to anyone with the desire to enhance themselves through the pursuit of higher education. Serving more than 50,000 students and awarding more than 6,000 degrees and certificates on an annual basis, the College plays a significant role in supplying the region’s employers with a highly skilled, educated workforce.
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