According to the latest data from Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Gadsden, Leon and Wakulla counties had a total of 5,432 unemployed residents.
Now, Tallahassee Community College is working to help train people for jobs in in-demand fields and their new partnership will help workers find immediate job placement.
Skilled trade workers are needed in the workforce now more than ever and one local partnership is helping people get from training to job placement in a few short months.
"There are plenty of jobs. There are more jobs than there are people looking for jobs. Even the ones you see advertised, for every advertised job for trades there's probably four or five different positions behind that job posting," said Corrie Melton, Vice President of Membership and Talent Development for the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.
Melton said although the need for more skilled trade workers is not new, it's been on the rise since the pandemic. However, the issue in filling these jobs is not availability but finding people who are properly trained and certified.
"They're retiring and there's no one with that skill set coming up behind them and so we are seeing a huge need for the programs and apprenticeships," said Melton.
Tallahassee Community College is trying to help meet that need. TCC'S Workforce Development is now offering an Intro to Electrical program to help fill the gap in the electrical industry.
Vice President of Workforce Innovation Kimberly Moore said she's excited to be able to help connect students to local jobs for an in-demand field. "There are waiting lists, and that's a good thing, so we're expanding the number of opportunities that we have available to support that demand and knowing that there is a job on the other side of it," said Moore.
It's a short-term program that will give students two electrical certifications and, with the help of CareerSource Capital Region, can lead to immediate job placement, something that Moore says is invaluable.
"Industry certifications are gold. They are absolutely gold. Those are the things that will allow you to get the great wage and continue to move not only through our local area, but they're portable. You could go throughout the United States," said Moore.
The electrical and construction industries are two of the top targeted industry sectors that are currently in high demand and Melton believes the need that we're seeing for trades today is not going to stop.
"You're guaranteed great income for years to come and the flexibility to do a lot of the hours and things that you want to do," said Melton.
There are 25 available seats in TCC's Intro to Electrical Program. If you're interested, you can apply for the program by calling CareerSource Capital Region. The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 13. Classes start on January 24.
