Jakub Prokop, Executive Director, Pinellas Technical College – Clearwater Campus

August 2026 —Invest: spoke with Jakub Prokop, executive director of Pinellas Technical College’s Clearwater Campus, about demographic shifts, workforce pressures, and the programs helping Tampa Bay keep pace. “When the market is hungry for skilled workers, we want young people to know there is a direct path from training to employment, and we keep reinforcing that message through outreach with schools, community partners, and local employers,” Prokop said.

What key changes over the past year have most impacted the college, and in what ways?

The key change is a continued, accelerating focus on workforce education in our region. Florida keeps attracting people who are approaching retirement or already in retirement, and that influx is speeding up. As more non-workforce-age residents move in, demand grows for workforce-age people to support the community and economy. That has increased the urgency for us to keep improving what we do and to communicate the opportunity to young people.

In Pinellas County, we are projecting that the population over age 80 will double by 2050, while birth rates continue to decline. If those trends continue, it becomes harder to find enough skilled workers to maintain infrastructure and meet day-to-day needs. People still have to build, repair, and maintain what makes a region function, and a shortage of skilled labor shows up everywhere.

Because we see those trend lines, we work closely with chambers of commerce and local agencies, such as Pinellas Economic Development, to keep driving awareness of Pinellas Technical College and the opportunities within the trades. A big part of our work is also cultural: helping students and families understand that technical training can be a first choice, not a last resort. When the market is hungry for skilled workers, we want young people to know there is a direct path from training to employment, and we keep reinforcing that message through outreach with schools, community partners, and local employers.

How has program alignment with employer demand progressed, and what measurable outcomes are you seeing?

We are seeing strong results. On this campus, we have 30 programs across the healthcare, service, and industrial fields. Seventy percent of our programs are at a 90% or higher completion rate, and more than half are at a 90% or higher placement rate. Those are meaningful indicators that students are finishing and moving into employment.

This past year, every program met the requirements of our accreditation agency. In the 10 years I have been here, there has always been at least one program that fell short of a metric. This is the first time we achieved full compliance across the board, and that reflects both student commitment and staff focus.

We also have a number of programs at 100% completion. Students increasingly see the opportunity and come in ready to finish what they started. The message is consistent: the doors are open, and skilled, credentialed workers are in demand. When students understand the payoff, they are more likely to persist through the program and follow through into the workforce.

What major trends are you seeing across technical and vocational education, and which fields are in the highest demand?

Healthcare continues to be a major driver, especially nursing. We opened our first LPN-to-RN non-degreed pathway, and our first cohort started with 18 students. Local employers have told us they are fine with the licensure pathway even without a degree, and the demand for nurses is tied directly to the growth in older residents moving to the region. There are only so many hours people can work, and systems need more trained professionals entering the pipeline.

Outside of healthcare, diesel technicians are in very high demand because of construction and power generation needs. Marine technicians are also in demand, tied to both the port economy and the broader marine industry. Automotive continues to be strong as the region grows and vehicle needs increase, and those opportunities stay steady because maintenance and repair never stop.

We also see growth in areas people do not always associate with technical education. Interior decorating is doing well because people move in and want help settling into new homes. Hospitality has recovered from COVID and accelerated, and we have strong enrollment in culinary and baking and pastry arts with solid job outcomes. Manufacturing is more variable right now because broader conditions can shift quickly, even though we have invested in facility upgrades to support that training.

What are the biggest challenges facing technical colleges today?

The biggest challenge continues to be instructor talent. As demand rises for highly technical skills, private-sector wages rise, and public institutions cannot compete dollar for dollar. We want instructors who are excellent technically, and we also want to support them in becoming effective teachers.

Our wage structure has not kept pace with what the market is paying in certain fields, so we have to compete in other ways. We sell the environment, the mission, and the lifestyle. Teaching can offer stability and a culture where instructors see impact, compared to industry settings that may pay more but demand different hours and pressures. That helps, but recruiting and retaining instructors in specialized fields remains the key constraint on growth.

What are your top priorities for the coming years, and how do you see technical education evolving in Tampa Bay?

One priority is to deepen partnerships in areas we see as strategic, such as marine, which is connected to the port and the broader coastal economy. Another priority is veterans. I do not think we are reaching enough veterans with clear pathways as they transition back into civilian life. Many already have technical foundations, and we should be connecting them to credentials that translate into local employment.

Regionally, the long-term pressure is still the same: more retirees moving in and fewer children being born. Workforce preparation takes time. It is essentially a long-horizon problem, because it takes years to move through K-12 and then into technical training. That is why planning ahead matters.

Housing is also central to the workforce conversation. Whether people call it affordable housing or workforce housing, the issue is how we attract and keep technical talent if they cannot afford to live here. Pinellas County is getting to a point where it is tough for younger adults to settle, buy a home, and start a family. If essential workers have to live out of county and commute, it creates strain across the system, and it becomes harder to sustain the workforce we need.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Soft skills and leadership development remain important. We want students to graduate with technical skills and the ability to show up professionally, communicate, and work with others.

One encouraging trend is that students are slowly moving away from social media and valuing in-person interaction more. Our students do not use their cellphones in class, and they have no problem with it. Participation in on-campus community events has been strong, and students are showing up.

I’m hopeful that we can get back to having real conversations, not just hiding behind your screens and, you know, and throwing tomatoes at each other, because the world of work requires face-to-face interaction and real collaboration.