Lake County Schools and Lake Technical College have been awarded over $500,000 in state funding to expand workforce educational opportunities to students in high school and beyond.
Leesburg, Eustis and South Lake high school construction programs will be expanded; Umatilla High will get new HVAC program;
Lake Technical College will offer Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Commissioning and Service Apprenticeship
The district received $250,000 from the state to expand pre-apprenticeship training through our partnership with the Academy of Construction Technologies (ACT), ensuring students have the opportunity to train in construction trades that prepare them to enter the workforce.
“Our goal is to make sure all of our students graduate college- and/or career-ready,” Superintendent Diane Kornegay said. “We greatly appreciate the support we have received from local businesses and organizations that have agreed to serve as members of an advisory committee and as partners in these efforts. Students will now have the opportunity to participate in hands-on, job skills training in the field of HVAC that will prepare them for high-demand and high-wage jobs here in Lake County.”
Specifically, the money will be used to upgrade the construction program at South Lake High School, create an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) program at Umatilla High School, and expand the construction program at Leesburg and Eustis high schools. The schools will become recruitment and training facilities for ACT. Leesburg High piloted a collaboration with ACT in the 2018-19 school year, and will expand enrollment with the additional funding.
Beyond our partnership with ACT, which focuses on students from rural areas, females, at-risk students and hands-on learners, the district has also established articulation agreements with Lake Technical College, allowing students to seamlessly continue their post-secondary training through its Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R) Technology program.
To that end, Lake Tech received an additional $260,000 in grant funds allowing for the creation of the HVAC/R Commissioning and Service Apprenticeship program. This program will be available to students who have completed Pre-Apprenticeship and Pathway programs through Lake County Schools; any student completing the HVAC program with Lake Tech; and any employee of a partnering HVAC company.
The apprenticeship program will provide training in commercial HVAC/R Commissioning and Service for students, while allowing them the opportunity to start working and earning money, and in turn allows partners to train employees on the job. Lake Tech has partnered with 33 business and industry associates to develop a program to meet their employment and training needs. One of those partnerships is with Kalos Services, Inc. Co-Founder, Bryan Orr, will assist in writing the program standards and will train the first class of apprentices.
“Our mission is to provide a skilled workforce and this new apprenticeship program will begin to prepare employees for the critical shortage in the HVAC industry,” stated Dr. Diane Culpepper, Lake Technical College Executive Director. “We are proud to partner with both Lake County Schools and the businesses and industries in our region.”
Lake was one of only 15 districts in the state to receive a portion of the $10 million Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature dedicated to career and technical education through the Florida Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant Program.
“Ensuring for a talented, well-educated workforce matters for the success of Florida’s economy and the health of our democracy, and I am thrilled to award these institutions with the Florida Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant,” DeSantis said in a press release announcing the awards earlier this week. “By investing in workforce education and apprenticeship programs, we are ensuring Florida’s students will have new opportunities and career paths. I am committed to making sure Florida is on track to being the best state in the nation for workforce education by 2030, and this grant creates the conditions for the talented workforce our state needs.”
