House Bill 367 promotes greater workforce education opportunities for Floridians
Representative Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican lawmaker, has filed legislation to allow apprenticeship training providers to request money directly from the state via a grant program. A main benefit of this legislation, HB 367 Apprenticeship Programs, increases transparency and accountability.
Construction is a top five economic driver in Florida. With this continuous demand for construction, the shortage of skilled and trained workers slows progress, increases costs, and adds potential risks to all on a jobsite. This shortage heightens the need for increased workforce education opportunities for Floridians.
Currently, Apprenticeship Training providers must identify Colleges, Universities or School Districts willing to partner with them as a Local Education Agency before they can offer their workforce development education services. Already required to be registered and licensed with the State, the additional requirement of the LEA partner as a pre-cursor to offering services can slow things down, cause confusion and interfere with the true goal of Apprenticeship Training – educating our workforce in a productive and timely fashion.
This legislation would simplify the process and increase transparency by allowing for Registered Apprenticeship Training providers to deal directly with the state. It would not eliminate the opportunity for Colleges, Universities and School Districts to participate in Workforce Education – but it would help to simplify things. This legislation would ensure that every dollar spent on apprenticeship training is spent on teaching rather than a maze of regulations.
Representative Donalds is working with Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida, ABC, the largest single provider of apprenticeship training in the state. Senator Manny Diaz, a Republican lawmaker from Miami-Dade County, has signed on as the Senate sponsor.
About Byron Donalds for State Representative
Byron Donalds works in finance, insurance, and banking in Southwest Florida. Over the past five years, he has been a featured speaker on national and statewide policy and politics and is a regular guest on Daybreak with Drew Steele on 92.5 Fox News FM, The Bob Harden Show, and The Joe Whitehead Show on 98.9 WGUF. Donalds was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Board of Trustees for Florida Southwestern State College, formerly Edison State College. He serves as a founding board member for a public charter school in Naples, an Advisory Board member for the Salvation Army of Collier County, and a youth leader at Living Word Family Church. In 2012, he carried Collier County in the Republican primary to succeed Connie Mack as U.S. Representative. Donalds graduated from Florida State University. He lives in Naples with his wife, Erika, and his three sons.
ON THE WEB: www.ByronDonalds.com
