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.