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Technical Education |
| Florida's Skilled Labor Crisis - About the Issue |
Approximately 80% of Florida’s fastest-growing occupations
will require post secondary career and technical education, NOT a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Some of these fastest-growing jobs include paramedics, nurses, police officers, firefighters,
manufacturing-related trades, and construction-related trade -- these are the people who help us
in emergencies, take care of us when we are sick, protect us, make products important to our lives,
and build our communities.
However, the labor pools for most of these occupations are in very low supply. Furthermore,
the engine that grows these labor pools – Florida’s Technical Education Centers – are under-funded.
The current funding of Technical Education Centers is simply not keeping up with Florida’s skyrocketing
demand for skilled technical labor. In fact, while demand for this skilled labor has been skyrocketing,
funding has actually been cut -- funding for Florida’s Technical Education Centers decreased by 8 percent
from 1997 to 2003.
Additionally, the lack of skilled technical labor is causing an economic development problem. It is
becoming more difficult to recruit new companies to Florida, and entice existing ones to stay, when
Florida has such a small pool of skilled technical labor, and the prospects of growing this pool are
dim because of the under-funding problem.
The recommendation of many business, community and political leaders throughout Flori da is to
increase funding for the State’s Technical Education Centers. The specific proposal is available
below in both the White Paper and Issue Overview. |
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