Heavy Equipment Operator Awards
Early analysis indicated a severe shortage in a workforce prepared to meet the region’s heavy equipment operator demands. Florida’s Great Northwest responded by issuing a Request for Proposals to expand existing training capacity. The demand for an additional 111 trained personnel per year for each of the next five years was identified – current enrollment in the single existing training program was four students. Two grant awards were made, one for development of a new training program and one to allow increased enrollment through scholarships funded by the WIRED Northwest Florida Initiative. These two programs will have the combined capacity to train nearly 200 heavy equipment operators per year.