It’s easy to talk the talk, and perhaps a little harder to walk the walk, but that is exactly what several local citizens did this week in support of Career and Technical Education.
Career and Technical Education, or CTE, is a term you might hear a lot lately, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other notable figures expound on the value of a career versus huge school debt, when comparing a technical education and job-ready work skills to traditional four-year college.
Washington County, Florida School Board candidates Cheryl Williams and Ashlynn Marquez were featured speakers last week in downtown Chipley, participating in a political candidate meet and greet.
One recurring theme and buzzword heard that evening was ‘CTE’, and when Florida Panhandle Technical College Instructor Paul Goulding heard the speeches, it was music to his ears.
Enrollment can always be better, but Florida Panhandle Technical College has seen over 430 interested and qualified students register for this Fall 2022 Semester, resulting in an increased need for software and certification fees in Goulding’s programs.
In summary, Goulding and his fellow FPTC Instructors have recently been notified that they will benefit from finding additional funding sources for their respective programs along with cutting costs.
Due to the cutting-edge technologies found in Goulding’s programs, there are no textbooks available to cover the program content, and the course study relies heavily on the annually renewable Adobe suite of software programs for the students to achieve industry certifications, graduate and become job ready.
In a planning session at commencement of the FPTC school year, Goulding ran his idea of petitioning the public for assistance in funding his software and certification testing fee needs past FPTC Administration, and FPTC Director Larry Moore and FPTC Registrar Belinda Collins both voiced their support for the idea.
Contacting the public, Goulding explained that the technical college is experiencing a shortfall in funding, with several less-than-painless changes in procedures, presenting challenges to students and educators alike.
Cheryl Williams immediately offered to purchase multiple copies of the software, and Ashlynn Marquez, who also generously donated her time and expertise a week ago in FPTC’s Studio B to give makeovers to the members of GLAM (Girls Leadership and Mentoring, sponsored by the Health Department) also agreed to participate and donate.
Washington County, Florida Superintendent of Schools Joe Taylor, hearing of the effort to fund the need, said, ‘I am in’, and his contribution enabled additional students to participate.
Todd Abbott, Washington County Commissioner for District 4 for the past 12 years has been a longtime supporter of the programs at FPTC, and also ponied up to enable yet more students the ability to participate in the FPTC offering.
‘This is an example of our community supporting students and education’, says Goulding, ‘and fortunately we have businesspeople in this community who see the value of the over 30 certification programs (seen in the images below) offered here at Florida Panhandle Technical College’.
‘We have had positive response from others in the community’, says Goulding, ‘and we look forward to additional contributions to help fund these needs. There is always room for more participation, and costs will not be going down any time soon’.
‘We are reaching out to Constitutional Officers and other elected officials to participate, along with business owners and other members of the community’.
There are also other ways in which to become involved in helping the educational efforts of FPTC, including donations to the Foundation, and any interested parties can contact the school for more information.
Goulding decided to gain even more value from the exercise, so he included discussion and study of this fundraising effort in the ‘Marketing 101’ component of his courses, illustrating to his students how to successfully fund a project without asking for a handout, instead offering real value in exchange.
‘Corporate, small business, personal and organizational partnerships are extremely important to our efforts at the technical college’, says Goulding, ‘and by asking our community partners to tell us what skills they are seeking in a potential employee, we can better train those future employees and ensure they are truly job-ready’.
FPTC Registrar Belinda Collins advises that the current registration window closes on September 2, 2022 and interested high school students should make an effort to discuss FPTC course study with their Guidance Counselors or simply come by the college to discover their options for dual enrollment in one of over 30 certification programs, all offered at no cost to high school Juniors and Seniors, 16 years of age, with at least a 2.0 grade point average.
For more information, visit the FPTC campus at 757 Hoyt Street in downtown Chipley, Florida, give a call at 850-638-1180 Extension 6317, or visit the website www.FPTC.edu.
