TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Basem and Mohammad Maswadeh are father and son but they're also boss and employee.
"The opportunities are wide open for him, that's just the first step in the right direction," said Basem.
Mohammad is a sophomore at Leon County Virtual School, and now he's dual enrolled for Lively Technical College's automotive program so he can join his dad's business full time when he graduates.
"I'm able to help my dad and I'm able to do business with him, be successful with him and I can't ask for more," Mohammad explained.
The Maswadeh's took part in Lively Technical College's first signing day for students and employers. Basem said the opportunity will help his son have a better life than he did.
"He doesn't have to work until age 50 or 40 for that matter, he's ahead of the game," Basem said. "If he keeps his head straight, keeps his dreams and goals to be education then he should be set and have residual income and not work as hard as I did."
Chelsea Williams, the K through 12 Career and Technical Education Coordinator for Leon County Schools, said their dual enrollment programs can help trade industries fill open positions.
"A lot of them do apprenticeships with them, internships with them, so this is a great talent pool for employers and people in our community to pull from for their pipeline," Williams explained.
Leon County Schools pays for the dual enrollment program. Williams says getting the education for free is invaluable to students.
"We teach these young men and young women that these are skills that they can take and be lifelong learners whether they use it in their career or not but these are skills they can always keep with them," said Williams.
Mohammad's advice to anyone considering dual enrollment is to take advantage of the golden opportunity.
"Be able to learn and keep it with you because vocational school, vocational skills if they're kept with you they can be very useful down the line," Mohammad said.
Lively Technical College has more than 30 programs ranging from automotive, to nursing, and even aviation. To learn more about the dual enrollment program you can go to their website.
