Apprenticeship (earn while you learn)
Hillsborough College is home to an apprenticeship program offered through the Associated Builders and
Contractors (ABC) and the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC). Students currently employed by an ABC or IEC
partner are eligible for the program. Students are able to earn wages while learning the necessary skills to achieve
an industry recognized certification in their respective fields. The demand for certified builders and electricians
is growing as older workers begin to retire.
Manufacturing demand
Hillsborough College (HC) is responding to the call to produce more graduates in both engineering
technology and welding technology. A recent skills gap study from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute shows by 2025, there will be
two million unfilled manufacturing jobs. The American Welding Society (AWS) also predicts a shortage of more than
400,000 welding professionals by 2025, largely due to the number of older, skilled workers retiring. HC is
providing students with the core competencies needed to meet the needs of local, regional, state and national
employers. Students in our Engineering Technology (ET) program focus on a set of core courses covering introductory
computer-aided drafting, electronics, instrumentation and testing, processes and materials, quality, and safety.
These core skills support the Florida workforce and align with the national Manufacturing Skill Standards Council
(MSSC) Certified Production Technician certification, providing value-added benefits to industry. The ET core,
coupled with a second year degree specialization, prepares students for jobs in manufacturing and high technology
industries.
Hispanic-american students and stem
Hillsborough College has received a nearly $6 million grant to boost Science Technology Engineering and
Math (STEM) education opportunities, especially for Hispanic-American students. The grant from the U.S. Department
of Education is for five-years and is the largest in its history in this category. HC prepares a diverse student
body of more than 44,000 students. More than 50 percent of these students represent minority populations, including
28 percent Hispanic-American. In addition, the Tampa Bay region leads the state when it comes to high-skill,
high-wage STEM jobs, with nearly 65,000 STEM employees, according a report published last year by Bloomberg.
Florida nursing shortage
According to the Florida Center for Nursing, “Statewide estimates for vacant nurse positions in the industries
studied have increased since the 2013 survey with nearly 12,500 vacant RN positions, 2,654 vacant LPN positions, and
3,111 vacant CNA positions as of June 30, 2015.” HC is now home to a fully functional, state-of-the-art health
sciences simulation suite. Designed to simulate a hospital setting, the HC simulation suite allows students to
apply classroom concepts within a simulated clinical environment. This simulation suite will help train and prepare
the next generation of professionals to provide care for patients. Florida’s aging population is growing and so is
the demand for the healthcare professionals who care for them.
Truck driving school
Students in the Tampa Bay area are now able to earn their CDL at Hillsborough College thanks to a new
community partnership with SAGE Truck Driving School. Over the next decade, the trucking industry will need to hire
a total of 890,000 new drivers, or an average of 89,000 per year. As of 2014, the trucking industry was short 38,000
drivers. The shortage was expected to reach nearly 48,000 by the end of 2015. One of the largest factors in
the current driver shortage is the relatively high average age of the existing workforce. The current driver age
according to the OTR (Over-the-Road) TL (Truckload) industry is 49. According to the American Trucking Association
2015 Report- Truck Driver Shortage Analysis:
- 5.8% of truck drivers are women
- 38.6% of drivers are minorities
- 68.9% of all freight tonnage is moved on the nation’s highways