Volusia County Schools Are Preparing Students for In-Demand Careers

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Florida’s state government has set a goal to become first in the nation for workforce training by the year 2030. In the Greater Daytona region, high school career and technical education (CTE) programs play a critical role in achieving that goal. 

Leading the charge in career readiness and skills training is Volusia County Schools. The school system’s CTE programs use hands-on and work-based learning to prepare students to meet the talent demands of employers in the region’s fastest-growing sectors, such as health care, IT, construction and aerospace. 

“We are the pipeline for workforce development in our area,” says Kristin Pierce, career and technical education coordinator for Volusia County Schools. “Our goal is to make sure that our students are going to be able to graduate with industry certifications that allow them to go right into the workforce or to move on to any other type of postsecondary apprenticeship programs.” 

Students in these programs learn practical, job-ready skills through hands-on learning and industry-aligned curricula. For example, students in the health care programs learn critical skills, such as medical coding, patient care techniques, anatomy and physiology – often practicing these skills in simulated medical environments or through clinical experiences at local health care facilities. Students in the information technology programs gain expertise in computer programming, cybersecurity and networking. Meanwhile, programs in advanced manufacturing teach skills such as blueprint reading and computer-aided design. 

Insights Into Opportunities 

Pierce says a major reason for this success is the close relationship the school system has with the business community. Business partners offer guidance on curriculum and equipment, provide more than 500 internship and apprenticeship opportunities, serve as guest speakers and mentors, and have even established unique on-campus learning environments, such as a student-run Addition Financial Credit Union branch. 

“A major part of career and technical education is listening to and being a part of the business community, hearing what their needs are and being responsive to those needs,” Pierce says. “The minute we lose touch with that, we’ll lose our position to not only help Volusia County grow economically, but to also help our students be successful in life.” 

Pierce points to new program additions in the health sciences, engineering and aerospace, and advanced manufacturing as examples of the synergy accomplished through those business and community partnerships. 

In allied health, the district is exploring adding a pharmaceutical technician program. In engineering and aerospace, it is adding a fabrication maintenance program because its partners – Space Florida, the Space Coast Consortium and NASA – said they need those skills, she says. 

“The Volusia Manufacturers Association is a strong partner of ours as well, and they shared that they are facing a shortage of welders, so we have added a welding program,” she says. “All those program developments came out of those conversations with business partners.”