The rising cost of attaining a college degree and the fear of student debt, is leading many to choose more affordable alternatives to the traditional higher education pathway.

From apprenticeships to vocational programs, we look at the latest initiatives helping place students and job seekers in high paying, in demand careers.

That and more stay with us as we dive into "Your South Florida".

Hello and welcome to "Your South Florida".

I'm Arlene Borenstein filling in for Pam Gigante.

The cost of higher education is a significant financial challenge for many students and families.

According to the State University system of Florida, the cost of attendance on campus for a full-time undergraduate Florida resident is nearly $25,000 a year on average, or about $100,000 for four years.

And while Florida's public universities have the lowest costs compared nationally, these fees and the prospect of student debt still makes a four year degree out of reach for so many.

Instead, some are turning to vocational programs that offer students a cost-effective way to learn the skills they need to find higher paying, in demand careers.

Joining me now to talk more about these alternative career paths is Charles Duval, assistant Vice President of Business Services at CareerSource Palm Beach County.

How are you doing, Charles?

I'm wonderful today, how are you?

Good.

You know, this is really a movement happening where people are turning to these vocational opportunities and these career opportunities and need the help.

Tell us more about your programs.

It is, and it's long overdue.

You've had people who have grown up with a belief that everyone has to go to college and get a degree, but what we're finding out is that may not necessarily be the case.

So for example, at CareerSource Palm Beach County, we're here to help the job seeker.

We're here to help people find work.

For some, it might be for the first time, or we also work with seasoned professionals as well.

So when you come to CareerSource Palm Beach County, we have a variety of ways to help you.

Not only can we help you find a job with placement services, we can help you get together a resume.

We have additional classes that you can take on interviewing skills and other areas as well.

We have several different programs that cater to a variety of populations as well.

Tell us about the job market currently.

Well, Palm Beach County is very fortunate when it comes to the job market.

We are experiencing a very resilient and robust job market right now.

Right now the unemployment rate in Palm Beach County is at 3.1% and we have consistently outpaced the state of Florida and the nation in unemployment.

What are some of the most in demand careers right now?

Well, the top jobs in Palm Beach County right now are in the areas of leisure, hospitality, education, and healthcare of course, and government as well.

During the pandemic, millions of Americans lost their jobs and some people left their jobs and especially low wage service workers, they closed down their businesses.

It was hard for them to even keep the jobs they had.

Did you see a shift in CareerSource at that time and what were you hearing from those looking for jobs?

Well, the hospitality industry certainly was impacted very much by the pandemic.

And what we saw was a lot of people having to leave not only the industry, but the area in order to find employment.

And I think that's also where CareerSource Palm Beach County used that as an opportunity to help those individuals retrain and help them find different careers as well.

There are things you were telling me about, those coming from New York, New Jersey, people coming down here who want jobs, who wanna work here and they're creating new industries at the same time.

Well, South Florida has become very attractive to out-of-state job seekers and also out-of-state companies as well.

You may have heard that Palm Beach County has earned its new nickname as the Wall Street of the South.

And that's because so many people from the finance sector in New York and New Jersey and other states are relocating here.

They come to take advantage of our warm weather, our beaches, what's not to love.

So Palm Beach County has really come up and in the financial sector here in South Florida.

Absolutely.

And so those programs that you mentioned earlier, tell us a little bit more about it.

When someone walks into CareerSource Palm Beach County, what kind of help will they be able to get?

Sure.

When you walk into CareerSource Palm Beach County, you likely need a job.

And that's what we are here to help.

In fact, one of the areas that we've identified is we are focusing the customer experience in our centers to something called Human-centered Design.

And we are revamping the entire customer service process from the time someone steps foot in our door.

Well, what does that mean?

How can we help them?

And how can we get them the help and resources that they really, really need?

And that goes from everything from assessing the physical makeup of the building to, the pathway that individuals take in terms of our services that we help them.

Maybe you are changing positions, maybe you're changing industries.

Well, we can funnel you into a program that's gonna help you do that.

Maybe you're a veteran.

We have programs for veterans specifically that we can help as well.

We also have programs for young people that we cater to also.

That's wonderful.

So many people who need the help, right.

In the current labor market, what should people expect in terms of wages and opportunities?

Tell us about that.

Well again, Palm Beach County is experiencing a very strong labor market, 3.1% unemployment means that's pretty close to full employment.

So what we've seen traditionally is when you have a tight labor market like that, it tends to push wages up.

So right now the median wage in Palm Beach County is $68,000 per year and that's very strong.

And that's actually up a few thousand dollars from $65,000 just a short time ago.

So we've seen the impact that that has on the labor market is that it's pushing wages up.

What are some of the hurdles in getting a higher paying job?

I bet everyone wants to hear about that.

Everyone wants to know that- How to get over those hurdles.

Yes.

So one thing that may work against people is the amount of time that they may have spent out of the labor market.

And to help with that CareerSource Palm Beach County actually has a program called our Professional Placement Network.

That program caters to the professional individuals management level, individuals who are looking to get back into the workforce or change jobs.

And it caters to that specific demographic and it teaches them how to brand, how to network to get those high paying jobs and other skills as well.

Your group CareerSource, Palm Beach County has done such a great job helping people in the Glades community that face challenges getting jobs and higher wages.

Over the last five years, you've placed nearly 10,000 residents in jobs.

Tell us more about that effort.

Well first, lemme see how much I love the Glades.

I've spent all of my career at CareerSource, Palm Beach County in Belle Glade and serving that particular community.

And just so you understand, the Belle Glade area traditionally has unemployment that has been four to five times higher than the rest of the county.

Whereas if we are at 3.1% now, the Glades is probably sitting near 20%.

And a lot of that has to do with, of course, the nature of industry in the Glades.

It has been largely agricultural and agriculture by nature is seasonal.

So there has been lots of ebb and flow in the labor market in the Glades itself.

But CareerSource has spent a lot of time and effort along with community partners in trying to move the community forward in bringing more jobs.

We have developed training programs in the Glades area.

We've also worked with other organizations, including the Business Development Board, a local nonprofit in the Glades called Lore to attract companies to the Glades to get them to see the value of the Glades, to invest in the Glades.

And we have seen some successes of our efforts.

In fact, just a couple of years ago, a manufacturing facility by the name of FINFROCK decided to relocate to the Glades and bring with them 200 jobs.

Now these jobs that they're bringing have been, have paid more than the median wage in the Glades and have offered full benefits.

And I don't use the word game changer lightly, but it really has been a game changer for our area.

And we hope that's just the first step in helping to diversify the economy, to bring better jobs to people.

Yeah I mean, $1.7 million in grants to the local businesses and the need for jobs there is important and you've really helped the community out there.

The interesting thing about that is, the Glades population makes up about 3% of the population in Palm Beach County County.

However, CareerSource devotes considerable resources to the Glades as much as a fifth of our budget, our entire operating budget to support programs and services in the Glades.

That's how much we recognize the need for assistance in that area.

That's wonderful how you've helped that community.

Talk to us about the apprenticeship program.

So apprenticeships are a space that CareerSource Palm Beach County recognizes that we can really do more in.

It's a very exciting time for apprenticeship programs in general.

A lot of times we have heard in our culture growing up that you have to go to college, you have to go to college, and we don't really talk about how apprenticeship programs.

Apprenticeship programs are wonderful in that a young person, or any person can start an apprenticeship program and they have a defined career path where if they continue and complete an apprenticeship program, they will see steady increases, not only in their skills, but also in their salary.

And that's a big advantage over going to, let's say, a four year program where you take on a lot of student loan debt.

A lot of the apprenticeship programs in the state of Florida are operating at no cost.

CareerSource Palm Beach County is supporting apprenticeship programs as well through assistance and training.

So we're really excited to be entering this space and looking at how we can further expand our support for apprenticeship programs.

Yeah, it's really great for both the employer and the person.

It is great for both the employer and the apprentice.

Now, where it helps the employer is that apprenticeship programs by the model, by the definition of their model are customizable programs.

So an apprenticeship can really take an apprentice and an employer is able to customize the type of training that they get, which is a really big advantage for employers.

With employers also, you're building a sense of loyalty among your apprentices because you're investing in them.

And job seekers these days, like to see that a company invests in their future.

And ultimately that's gonna help a company's bottom line.

You're creating loyalty among the apprentices and for the apprentice, you get a skill that you're gonna be able to use and not only stop there, but if you want to, you can take that skill.

And if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you can create a business of yourself for yourself from the skills that you learn.

So it's really a win-win for both the apprentice and the employer.

Well, such great things you do for the community.

And if you're looking for a job, look for Charles at CareerSource Palm Beach County.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you very much for having me.

Of course.

Well, as we just heard, taking the apprenticeship pathway is a unique opportunity allowing students to earn as they learn their trade, giving them the inside track to higher wages and career advancement.

Recently, the "Your South Florida" team spent some time with one local company to see how apprenticeships can be beneficial for both students and businesses, take a look.

We're a commercial electrical contractor in the South Florida market.

We cover pretty much from Fort Pierce to Homestead with Palm Beach County being our principal focus.

We do strictly commercial work, no residential, and have a focus on automotive dealership facilities.

And of recent days, we're doing a tremendous amount of EV charging infrastructure projects.

That's probably 35% of our business at the moment.

It's a difficult industry, it's challenging.

Codes and standards change regularly.

Financial requirements change regularly.

We are in a very litigious area in South Florida.

The process of getting paid can be difficult at times.

Rewards are, it's accomplishing, it's a very accomplishing trade.

You see it, you see what you do, you light up things and bring power to things throughout a project.

Apprentices by the, in the beginning stage for a contractor, they're kind of a liability because they're the most dangerous on a job.

They don't have the knowledge to avoid accidents and injuries.

They're the least productive until they start to learn.

But as that process goes, it becomes a payback.

So we build a crop of capable qualified journeyman electricians to enter a trade that is forever.

People are retiring or going on to, we quite often have people move into management positions or administrative positions.

So we're in constant need of field staff and that's the best way to create those positions.

I think getting into the apprenticeship program for any trade is probably a great option for a lot of people if you're not sure what you're doing.

But I think it's a good opportunity for many.

The reason I chose the apprenticeship program was getting paid pretty much to learn.

So you're getting paid while you're in the field.

Went to school a couple nights a week, but it made me feel like I was doing something where there'd be a little more future.

Afterwards it helps you learn along the way, helps you a lot of the book knowledge while you're out in the field, learning the field side of it at the same time.

We've had a great success of recruiting out of a a PSAB program at Palm Beach State College, which is like an entry to the electrical industry that they spend a year in this class.

And through that process have learned at least an entry level piece of reading blueprints, the code, the whole industry.

And they've committed the time to where we believe they're interested in staying in the trade.

I recruited Javier through the Palm Beach State College program.

We sent him to CareerSource for a sponsorship and an initial program, an initial apprenticeship program, which Career source approved him for.

We ran him through an initial 90 days of training.

After completing that training, they, we then sponsored him into the IEC Independent Electrical Contractors apprenticeship program.

He just completed his first year and going on to his second year of apprenticeship now.

So we're really happy with the, with Javier and the whole process.

Yeah, the guys that I've came across working with definitely without a a hesitation, helped me out.

Any questions I had for them were quick to not only explain to me, but show me hands-on, learning as we work.

Definitely helped me en encouraged me to really stay focused on what I'm doing here.

He's really good worker, hard worker, very smart, seems to be very motivated.

You can tell he kinda wants to do maybe a little more so, which is always good to see.

Definitely think he'll be a big part of the company soon.

We don't just send him to an apprenticeship school and say, figure it out and come back and be an electrician.

We sort of assist them in the process.

If we, they need additional tutoring, they need support, we try to help them and commend them when they make great accomplishments, pull 'em aside when they're not doing so well, and find a way to help them, to succeed in the process.

Sort of builds a bond between us that it retention's really good with us.

So, and that's a difficult thing in this trade.

So apprenticeship has been my greatest success story in accomplishing that.

I think that it helps that the guys that are now going through the apprenticeship program, see people like myself that have been here for a while, did the same thing but worked our way up into a management type position.

I think it kind of gives them the, the outlook that there's more is possible.

And they see at a company like this where people are being brought up from within and aren't, always being hired from the outside.

The old adage of a paycheck was the, an employer's employer with a paycheck that was, would rule the world.

That was, that's all it took to get employees.

It's, they're not interested in pay.

It's not about the paychecks now.

It's about being a part of something in a meaningful organization where they're recognized for their accomplishments.

A lot of contractors don't wanna spend the money to be involved in apprenticeship.

It's not inexpensive, especially if you go to additional steps to keep them engaged and keep them successful in the process but it pays off.

62% of our overall employees have been here 10 years or longer.

That's unheard of in this industry.

By making those steps, you can really accomplish something.

A new program kicking off this fall will offer free classes for Miami Gardens residents that wanna pursue a degree or certification, making higher education and higher paying jobs more accessible to the community.

Here with me now to share more is Miami Garden City.

Councilman Robert Stevens the third.

Nice to meet you.

Thank you for being here.

Likewise, thank you for having me.

You know, something I wanna know is, you know what motivated this wonderful initiative?

I think it's so special.

Absolutely, thank you.

As a higher education professional myself, I understood the importance of bringing education to the community.

When you talk about a thriving community, a lasting community, I believe wholeheartedly that education must be at the forefront of that conversation.

And when I was campaigning and I would meet with residents on a weekly or monthly basis, one of the biggest things that I kept hearing is, I want to go back to school.

I want to be able to attend school to advance in my profession, to advance in post-secondary education.

But there's so many things that's happening that stop me from doing.

So I came up with the concept of saying, well, what if I bring the college classes, vocational programs to you at your back door by being able to offer these classes out of our community centers, how would that be of assistance?

And the response from my constituents was, yes.

And from that moment forward, we worked to build it out and create a partnership.

What were you hearing from the community that they were their biggest hurdles as you were mentioning, this was something they kept saying over and over to you.

Yeah traditionally and historically, Miami Gardens community has always been a working class community.

Our median income is roughly about $50,000 to $55,000 a year for the average household.

With that being said, a lot of the households are single families.

So when you have children that you have to take to an afterschool extra curriculum, football, cheerleading, , karate, it becomes challenging.

To get your young person to that extra curriculum and investing into your young, our young people as well as trying to pursue, your goals, what you would like to accomplish.

So one of the hurdles is I wanna go to school, but I can't because I have to tend to my child.

So the idea of creating the concept of you can take college classes out of your community center, which was the biggest focus because I can be, I can drop my kid off to the football field where they would go to football practice cheerleading, and then go into that same center and take college classes at the same time was the motivation.

Wow, that sounds so helpful to parents especially- Absolutely.

Single parents too, of course.

Talk us through the, it's called the Higher Education Initiative.

Yes, so the Miami Garden City University Partnership High, our higher ed initiative includes currently three institutions, Miami Dade College, Florida Memorial University, and St. Thomas University.

Both Florida Memorial University and St. Thomas is institutions that's located in the city limits of Miami Gardens.

And Miami Dade College North Campus is roughly about 10 minutes south of us.

So they're all very close to the constituents already.

This program starts at the level, there's two pathways.

You can come in as a continuing student.

I started college classes, but for whatever reason I wasn't able to complete them.

And then you can come in as a first time in college student and take the pathway of saying, I want to start my degree.

Take the path of, currently we're offering a business administration, a education, or a health sciences pathway.

So I want to, as a first time in college students study business.

What we're working, or what we've worked to create is a pathway.

You start and you get your first 60 credits.

Because no matter what institution you go to, your 60 credits is the same.

That's your associates and arts degree.

I start by taking my 60 credits at Miami Dade College, and then I would matriculate to either a master's program at Florida Memorial or St. Thomas's to advance my degree.

At a accelerated speed.

So you can essentially get your master's degree in three, six years while creating an AA degree, a bachelor's degree in your master's degree.

Wow could someone come in with a bachelor's degree and get a master's?

They can.

So they would take on the, if you have a undergraduate degree already, you would take the continuing education pathway of I have degrees, but now I would like to continue my degree seeking.

We built in the last dollar scholarship for this particular program.

So students are, residents are strongly encouraged to apply for financial aid and whatever financial aid doesn't cover the institute, the city would take up the slack and if you're not eligible for financial aid, the city was still take it.

And then there's the last dollar scholarship that we've been able to award to, Miami Gardens residents first time in college students.

This past graduating season, we awarded over $50,000 scholarships.

And that's with our partnership with Formula One racing and the Miami Dolphins.

Oh, right.

'Cause they all play and- That's right.

And have their track there, so giving back.

Everything is in Miami Garden.

You're right.

You have your, what we like to call the entertainment hub for South Florida.

And how are students eligible for these great scholarships.

Being a resident of Miami Gardens, being a resident of Miami Gardens opened up you to all of the resources and benefits that this city university has to offer.

We have someone on staff full time that will walk you through the entire process.

And then each institution has give, they gave us an employee from the institution that would be stationed at our community center.

So you don't have to go to the college campus to register for classes, register for financial aid, meet with an advisor.

We essentially created a one stop shop in the city of Miami Gardens out of our Betty T. Ferguson Community Center.

That's wonderful.

Physical location could be a hurdle.

[Robert] Absolutely.

So talk to us a little bit more about that.

Especially, first generation may even have that lack of motivation.

They don't really know what to do or how to start.

Yeah that's the accessibility piece that we talk about when we build out this program.

There was two modules that I wanted to focus on when I brought the idea to my colleagues on the city council.

And when I began to work with staff to execute.

And that was the accessibility piece.

That's where we provide the scholarships and then the accessibility is being able to say, I don't have to get in my car, drive to a college campus look for parking.

I can literally just put on some shoes and walk to the community center and take my college classes.

The way this program is designed, if you are a first time in college student, you can take all 60 credits out of the community center.

Oh, wow.

That's incredible.

So, and it helps big time because a lot of times the lack of motivation, having to put your foot forward and move to go to a college campus, look for parking, run to one of the buildings when your class can be on the other side and parking can be on the other.

You're like, I don't wanna do it.

No more excuses.

No more, there's no more excuses it's in your backyard.

And we look to, we're running it out of one of our community centers now.

Miami Gardens is a fairly large city.

We are about 24 square miles.

And we're looking to take this program and run it out of multiple community centers.

We have over seven new renovated community centers online that is conducive to run these programs out of.

The colleges that are involved in the program.

What did they tell you and what encourages them to participate?

Yeah the issue of the lack of motivation for first time in college students, for the accessibility portion for private institutions like St. Thomas and Florida Memorial the cost, so when I presented the ideas to each of the institution presidents, they were sold because these were challenges that they were having as it relates to recruiting.

And with Miami Gardens being your third largest municipality in Miami Dade County, being able to get a government at this magnitude involved to creating this opportunity was something that they were sold on.

Because I believe wholeheartedly, if we start this at the Miami, it's the City of Miami Gardens other, it becomes a model to other municipalities.

And now we're creating accessible and affordable education for all.

So I'm, yeah.

It's a win-win, right?

It's a win-win.

Absolutely.

You can't go wrong, there's no excuses.

You're now able to take these classes, at a reduced to low no cost, and it's in your backyard.

And not only do this program offer degree seeking classes, but those who would like to take the vocational route, college is really not for everyone.

And we've identified and understand that.

There are things that we say there are jobs that Florida needs right now.

The top three that we've identified is first responders, AllyHealth we need more nurses, we need more doctors.

And then if we can get educators, we need more teachers in our school systems.

These programs, Miami Dade College currently have an agreement with Miami Dade County Public School that once you complete 60 credits, you can go into the classroom and start teaching while working to complete your bachelor's degree.

That's expressed to you the need of teachers in our school system.

The health sciences we need more nurses, we need more nurse practitioners.

And Miami Dade College, along with St. Thomas is looking to add more to the rotation to get more students out there in the workforce.

Well, you are certainly opening a lot of doors.

Councilman, thank you so much for being here today.

My pleasure thank you.

Of course.

For more information on this and all the programs discussed on today's episode, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @YourSouthFL.

I'm Arlene Borenstein, thank you for watching.