NICEVILLE, Fla. — A $3 million grant will help expand Florida’s footprint in the maritime workforce in Northwest Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis says this investment will create a new maritime fabrication training center at Northwest Florida state college.
President Mel Ponder says the goal of this training center is to address the growing need in the maritime industry to find workers across the Gulf Coast.
“If you look at the opportunities really between Pensacola that just recently got a nine million dollar award, and bay county that’s also got a deep water port, this whole corridor is going to have growing opportunities of maritime and defense, and we see that coming, and we not only want to participate in the workforce needs of today, but we also know the needs that are coming in the days ahead,” Northwest Florida State College president Mel Ponder said.
The college received the money through a Florida job growth grant fund.
It will support two new workforce programs.
A 22 credit certification in composite fabrication, and a 600 hour industrial pipefitter career certificate.
“That is completely the reason why they designed it this way, to have that rapid credentials, the one thing we continue to hear inside the industry is having those individuals to be able to get those careers as soon as humanly possible,” Dean of Workforce Education Dr. Christopher Gabers said.
The facility will offer hands on training designed to replicate what they will see on the shop floors.
“Its not just one industry that they’ll be able to support, its obviously shipbuilding but there’s other areas that will eventually be able to benefit from that as well,” Gabers said.
“In this instance you’re going to be able to go from the shop floor here in Northwest Florida state college, to right into the industry itself,” he added.
Groundbreaking on the new facility will begin Dec. 1. The goal is to get the facility up and running within a year.