Apprenticeship (earn while you learn)

Hillsborough Community 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 Community College (HCC) 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. HCC 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 Community 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. HCC 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.” HCC is now home to a fully functional, state-of-the-art health sciences simulation suite. Designed to simulate a hospital setting, the HCC 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 Community 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