Jackson County Florida School to Trade Project

The Jackson County Chamber in Florida is working with local companies and higher education institutions to introduce local students to career opportunities in the trades that provide well-paying jobs.

“We are introducing them to different fields, working with the trades and the college, and introducing them to trades that they can get jobs immediately without having a college degree,” said chamber president & CEO Lacey Ekberg.

The project is being led by a committee of local business owners, tradespeople, consultants and educators involved in hiring, training, employing and elevating youth. In addition to skills training in key industry sectors, like HVAC, plumbing, electrical and manufacturing, the group is developing a soft skills course. The chamber is also working with IBM on software engineering certification classes.

The goal in the first year is to engage eight companies to provide training to 15 students. They are focusing on high school seniors this year. Interest has been high, according to Ekbert, as many students are looking for direction and career guidance. In addition to the skills training, the chamber is exploring an entrepreneurship component for the program as well.

“Job placement is our end goal, to make sure all of the kids going through this process have a job or at least an apprenticeship or internship lined up,” Ekberg said. “I want to be sure that they all get certified in the area they want to go into as well as the soft skills.”

One of the early challenges the chamber has identified has been access to transportation. It is difficult for students without a car to participate in the program and get to the training.