TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter Lear, City Manager
TITLE: Approval for the Mayor to provide a letter of support to Suncoast Technical College - North Port’s grant application to the State’s Florida Job Growth Grant
Recommended Action
Review the draft letter provided, make any changes, then provide approval for the Mayor to sign the letter of support.
Background Information
The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund was created to promote economic opportunity by improving public infrastructure and enhancing workforce training. This includes workforce training grants to support programs offered at state colleges and state technical centers. This particular grant application by Suncoast Technical College - North Port proposes to offer a Commercial Vehicle Driving program which will fill a gap in the job market and also provide the opportunity for North Port’s workforce to improve their skills and move into a high-demand occupation. This is proposed to be accomplished through a nine-week program that will provide students with 320 hours of hands-on experience through the Tractor Trailer Truck Driver course.
The course includes classroom, range driving, and 1,000 miles of hands-on road driving on different roads and a variety of conditions. Upon completion of coursework participants are eligible to receive their Class “A” or “B” Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). See attached program description for further details, but essentially any participant successfully completing the coursework has the opportunity to become more employable in the fast-growing industry sectors of transportation, warehousing, and logistics.
Estimates from the American Trucking Association place the current shortage to 50,000 workers, ballooning to 174,000 by 2026 if current trends hold. North Port hopes to capitalize on its fairly abundant supply of trainable workforce to position itself better in the constantly shifting patterns of consumer goods consumption in the state and in the nation. In other words, we hope to train our residents to be more skilled and employable in fast-growing sectors.
Strategic Plan
Diverse Local Economy
Goal 4: Develop Talent and Workforce (Economic Development Strategic Plan)
Goal 4: Develop a community of educated professionals and skilled workforce, who are productive, have fulfilling careers, and are seen as a beacon to other industries to develop within the city (Economic Development Element of the Comp Plan)
Financial Impact
No cost to the City of North Port: $0
Grant request (to the State): $1,346,000
School District Match: $3,600,000
Attachments:
1. Draft letter of support
2. STC - North Port CDL Grant application
Prepared By: Ruth Buchanan
Department Director: Peter D. Lear