Last week, several Florida colleges announced they were the recipients of tens of millions of funds from the U.S. Department of Labor. On September 18, the federal agency announced the release of $474.5 million in funds to build better relationships between colleges and employers.
In South Florida, Broward College announced the arrival of $12.9 federal grant that is the single largest award in the college’s history. The money will help the college launch its logistic and supply management program. Just north of Broward, Palm Beach State College also took in $2.4 million dollars to fund its information technology program and to develop economic, workforce and education partnerships.
In the Northeast of the State, Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College collectively received over $2 million to train new grads in manufacturing, health care, transportation, health care, science and technology.
In the Southwest, Edison State College took in $1.4 million to develop information technology programs, targeted at rural residents of Southwest Florida. The college will use the funds to support its offerings in mobile device computing, geographic information systems, network security and IT communications.
Along the East Coast, Eastern Florida State College (formerly known as Brevard Community College) was awarded $1.54 million dollars to launch three new bachelor degree programs in information technology. The computer science programs will include specialties in software development, project management and networking services. The college partnered with the Brevard Workforce agency in developing the grant application to the Department of Labor. The goal was to provide training for former NASA workers who lost their jobs due to the closure of the space shuttle program and to support the entry of future workers in the area’s growing high-tech industries. Two local high-tech companies supported the application, claiming it would provide education for “high-wage, high-skill employment.”