Pathways to Prosperity: Career Technical Education in Greater Gainesville
Back in the day, vocational education, or trade school, started with home economics for girls and shop class for boys, then progressed into training for jobs like secretarial, auto repair, carpentry and plumbing, among others. These were considered great jobs, but perhaps they were not viewed as careers –– which required completing the traditional four-year college degree. How things have changed.
Today, there are many pathways to great careers that do not require a four-year degree. Career Technical Education provides a wealth of opportunity for students, starting in elementary school and progressing through middle school, high school and college. Alachua County’s K-12 school magnet programs offer credentialing in fields as diverse as robotics, culinary, veterinary, agriculture, gaming, biotechnology, finance, entrepreneurship, early childhood education and many more, with a wealth of additional programs offered at our No. 1 ranked Santa Fe College. More is in the works, because much more is needed for children and families. If Florida functioned as its own country, it would have the 17th largest economy in the world, Florida Chamber Foundation reported. As the third most populous state in the country, Florida has been creating one of every 11 jobs offered in the United States and welcomes 900 net new residents each day. This is the Florida that many know, with prosperous and promising opportunities.
However, too many Floridians are left out of this idyllic version of Florida, as more than 3 million people –– 14.8% of the population –– live in poverty. Of that total, 870,505 are children, and more than 75,000 students enrolled in Florida public schools are homeless. Greater Gainesville is home of top-seven research university, the University of Florida, the No. 1 ranked Santa Fe College and thriving healthcare and entrepreneurial economic engines. Considering all of these highly acclaimed institutions and industries in Greater Gainesville, it might seem there would be a lower percentage of children in poverty locally than the state average. However, that is far from true. A significant number of local children and their families –– almost 21%, higher than the state and national percentages –– live in poverty and continue to miss out on local opportunities.
A possible solution to reducing childhood poverty is for the community to focus on both children and their families. One key way to do that is to commit to upskilling parents, with pathways to better-earning ability and upward mobility, to help the more than 15,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 64 who are without a high school diploma, as documented by the U.S. Census. Research indicates that Greater Gainesville needs this focus. Those without a complete high school education earn an average annual salary of $17,433.
Local and state governments are addressing the problem in several ways. In 2019, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed House Bill 7071 to establish the SAIL to 60 Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to increases the number of working-age Floridians with a high-value postsecondary certificate, degree or training experience to 60% by 2030. The Florida Legislature also created the Florida Talent Development Council. The Council was tasked to develop a strategic plan to improve education and training attainment and the alignment of programs and credentials to address the needs of Florida employers.
Additionally, the Florida Chamber Prosperity Initiative, established by the Florida Chamber of Commerce and its Florida Chamber Foundation, is working to reduce childhood poverty zip code by zip code in Florida. And here locally, the Greater Gainesville Chamber’s Alachua County Education Compact Steering Committee intends to engage the National Center for Arts & Technology to conduct a 10-month feasibility study to evaluate the potential for a Center for Arts & Technology or Career Technical Education Center in the Greater Gainesville area.
The feasibility study will focus on Greater Gainesville’s demographics to identify the specific additional employment and educational needs of the area, relative to youth arts and adult training programs. Working with this data, the community can pursue more Career Technical Education programming to increase the pathways to opportunity for all of citizens