Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/91307
COMMITTED TO RESULTS The Sarasota County Commission met with the School Board Aug. 29 in the county's Think Tank at the Administration Center in downtown Sarasota. Photo by Norman Schimmel SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOLS ALREADY AT WORK ON NEW PROGRAM IN RESPONSE TO WORKFORCE PREPAREDNESS STUDY RELEASED IN AUGUST By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor Although a committee's report on community workforce preparedness will not be present- ed to the Sarasota County Commission until Nov. 7, the Sarasota County Schools district already is developing a new manufacturing program for adult students at Sarasota County Technical Institute as a result of the commit- tee's work, district officials told The Sarasota News Leader this week. According to SCTI Director Todd Bowden, the goal of the new program is to certify 100 machinists within five years of the program's introduction in August 2013. "We're working with CareerEdge, Sarasota County and local manufacturers to develop this program to meet the needs of employers," Bowden told the News Leader in an email. "When they complete the one-year technical training program, students will be qualified for jobs that pay in the $15- to $18-an-hour range. During a joint meeting of the School Board and the County Commission on Aug. 29, the Bradenton organization CareerEdge presented the results of a survey of area manufacturers showing that 41 percent of the jobs that had gone unfilled for three or more months were classified as "skilled production." Fifty-six of the 103 respondents in the survey said they