Greater Orlando’s education leaders address the knowledge economy
Writer: Pablo Marquez
November 2024 — Orlando has earned its reputation as a capital for attracting skilled talent and building a strong labor force. Educational institutions in Central Florida are making big efforts and strides in order to improve the capacity to train the next generation of leaders and business professionals.
At the recent Invest: Greater Orlando Launch Conference, the second panel “Knowledge economy: Strategies for aligning education with Central Florida’s traditional and emerging economic needs, and the hurdles to overcome,” delved into Central Florida’s role in the workforce development for the jobs of tomorrow, building a strong labor force, as well as attracting and retaining the best talent. Moderated by Sam Stark, vice president of athletics, communications and external relations at Rollins College, the panel featured John Kiss, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of the Florida Institute of Technology, Dave Buckles, president of Foundation Academy, Laura Byrd, interim president of Lake-Sumter State College, and James Michael Burkett, president of NUC University Florida Technical College (NUC FTC).
The panel opened on how their institutions are adapting their educational programs to align with the region’s economic needs both in the present and in the future. Kiss stressed the connection between workforce development, training programs, and partnerships. “Workforce development and training future workers is very important. We are located on the space coast so we take this very seriously. Our general approach revolves around partnerships, since we partner with local companies to develop on site training programs. We ask leaders of different companies what they need, and we try to evolve our curriculum so that students can meet those market needs,” he pointed out.
Supporting Kiss’s sentiment, Buckles elaborated on the importance of developing local partnerships to provide real-world experience for students. “We want to make sure that our students are prepared not just for college, but also for the real world. We teach students to communicate better, and also try to create opportunities for them to work with other organizations and businesses in the area. We partner with local multimedia, TV productions, broadcasts, journalism, photography, healthcare institutions so that our students can get a sense of what the labor market is really like,” he added.
Meanwhile, Byrd continued along the same lines and also focused on the role of partnerships in the healthcare industry. “We strongly believe in collaborations and partnerships with our local hospitals. We are focused on the healthcare industry and looking to increase the capacity of nurses in our community. Our K-12 partners with Lake Technical College, we have a program called LakeWorks where their LPN students come straight into our R&M program. The classroom is located in the hospital, so our students are working with the clinicians. With our local partners, we’ve been able to increase our capacity in the nursing programs 400%,” she pointed out.
Burkett took a different stance and highlighted the importance of programs in order to build a skilled labor force. “Our campuses in Florida have programs that are customized to serve the local market. We meet with graduate students, professionals and business owners and they tell us what the local market needs are. We try to build a skilled workforce by looking at what the market needs will be in the next five to ten years, and we train students with those specific skills. To give you a couple of examples, we offer construction trades and hospitality programs that are fully in Spanish,” he stressed.
As the conversation delved into navigating the challenges of preparing students for high-demand technical careers, Stark asked Burkett how NUC University Florida Technical College is leveraging innovative teaching methods and industry partnerships to create a curriculum that is both relevant and adaptable.
Burkett discussed some unique programs and hands-on learning experiences that are setting NUC University Florida Technical College’s graduates apart in a competitive job market. “We help our students to get into the workforce by teaching them technical skills as well as soft skills. We have a unique concept called the ‘career roadmap,’ this concept works by providing a hundred percept transferability of diploma credits into a bachelor’s degree program. This allows students who are working adults to obtain certification and programs while they finish their studies. This program allows for adults who might need to address other responsibilities like taking care of children or working a shift job to continue their path of higher education,” he elaborated.
As the conversation came closer to an end, Stark asked the four panelists to look into the future and identify workforce needs that are set to have a strong impact on how educational institutions grow and evolve, and how their respective institutions are preparing to meet those emerging demands.
Kiss responded by pointing towards the importance of data science. “Higher education has been slow in responding to the pressing needs of businesses. Once again, we address this by listening to our industry partners and working with our college advisory boards. Right now there is a lot of interest in data science, so we are working to develop data programs that will teach reliable data skills to our students,” he specified.
Buckles raised the subject of always keeping up to date with the most recent technology. “We should understand what is coming to the area by having close conversations with our community. We should be able to find out what the next upcoming technology is and try to implement it as soon as possible,” he said.
Byrd brought up the importance of teaching soft skills and providing tuition for those who cannot afford it. “We are very low cost and try to provide scholarship opportunities as a means to help students into the workforce. We think that teaching soft skills will prepare students for the future,” she stressed.
Burkett addressed the question by highlighting accessibility as a key aspect. “Helping students with accessibility via online and hybrid programs is very important. Again, our students are working adults who need to fulfill other responsibilities in life. What we try to do is to facilitate their access with flexibility to our education programs so that they can combine it with other commitments,” he added.
For more information, please visit:
