Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday he is awarding $6.1 million to go toward a new education center for workforce training programs in Hernando County.
The governor said the funds will be used to build a new facility on the campus of Pasco-Hernando State College, and the project is a collaboration between the county, college, and the Hernando County School Board.
DeSantis said he wants to make Florida No. 1 in workforce education by the year 2030, and this education center will go a long way toward that goal.
"Students will be able to enroll in programs for a variety of in-demand industries related to manufacturing, education, healthcare and aviation," DeSantis said. "These are really, really significant opportunities that can really provide young people with really great job prospects."
The money comes from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, which is designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state.
Proposals are reviewed by the Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida, Inc., and chosen by the governor.
“In a matter of weeks, they're (students) going to leave with a real credential and that credential is aligned to what we know are real job openings in this area," Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said. "And so literally now they can put real food on the table for the family and have a real career.”
"It really helps the state beyond that, because the more and more people see that we're committed to that, this is more and more likely to be a place where they're going to want to do some of these key things, because they know they have the workforce that's going to be able to support it."
In 2020-21, $74 million in awards have been allocated for projects that focus on rapidly developing a highly skilled workforce and on infrastructure initiatives that attract businesses, create jobs, and promote economic growth.
