Governor Ron DeSantis has announced nearly $23 million in investments to strengthen Florida’s defense workforce, military communities, and defense industrial base. More than $4 million is slated for Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
“Nearly 900,000 Floridians work in defense and defense-related industries,” said DeSantis. “Our colleges and universities provide skilled talent for defense, aerospace, aviation, and maritime industries throughout the state. Today, I announced major investments to help ensure that Florida remains the national leader in these growing industries. By investing in critical infrastructure and workforce development, we’ve helped make Florida a magnet for defense, aerospace, and shipbuilding companies looking to start or expand their operations.”
The grants given out Monday include about $15.3 million from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, $5 million from the Florida Department of Transportation’s Spaceport Improvement Program in partnership with Space Florida, and about $3.1 million from Florida’s Defense Reinvestment Grant Program and Florida Defense Support Commission Grant Program, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Florida State College at Jacksonville is slated to receive $7 million, the lion’s share of job growth funds. The money will be used to buy and renovate a vacant building at Cecil Center North to expand the school’s HVAC and welding programs. The building will be the home of the new Cecil Training Institute, which is projected to train about 324 workers over the next decade.
Locally, the awards include $3 million for Northwest Florida State College to construct and equip a 4,000-square-foot, two-bay facility to establish the Maritime Fabrication Training Center at Northwest Florida State College’s Niceville campus. The facility will expand an existing building to provide specialized training in Composite Fabrication and Industrial Pipefitter programs to address the rapidly expanding maritime and shipbuilding industries.
Additionally, the Center will support two new workforce programs: a 22-credit College Credit Certificate in Composite Fabrication and Testing and a 600-hour Industrial Pipefitter Career Certificate with two occupational completion points.
“Northwest Florida has the opportunity to build and sustain the ships, aircraft and advanced systems that carry American power, and our College’s responsibility is to make sure we have the skilled workforce ready to meet that demand,” President Ponder said in a Monday afternoon press release. “The Maritime Fabrication Training Center will give our students hands-on experience using the same processes and techniques they will encounter in industry, while earning credentials that employers recognize and value. Just as importantly, it will create a direct pathway into high-wage, high-skill careers that allow our students to build their futures right here in Northwest Florida. This is exactly the kind of workforce education investment that strengthens our students, our employers and our region at the same time.”
Governor DeSantis also awarded up to $5 million through the Florida Department of Transportation’s Spaceport Improvement Program to support the design and construction of a rocket motor test stand at Cecil Spaceport.
Additionally, the governor announced more than $3.1 million in awards through the Defense Reinvestment Grant Program and Florida Defense Support Commission Grant Program to support Florida’s military communities and military installations. The Defense Reinvestment Grant Program directly supports community-based activities that protect existing military installations, diversify the economy of a defense-dependent community, or develop plans that facilitate the reuse of closed or realigned military installations.
Regional awards through the Defense Reinvestment Grant Program include:
· One Okaloosa ($125,000) to leverage and connect broad-based community stakeholders, including industry, government, educators, and community leaders, to strengthen regional installations and ranges, enhance the regional STEM industry ecosystem and talent pipeline, and foster defense and non-defense sustainable industrial growth.
· Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners ($250,000) to advance Phase II of Whiting Aviation Park by completing the data collection, engineering analysis, and design necessary to extend Don Salter Boulevard into the Phase II development area.
The Florida Defense Support Commission Grant Program offers and manages grant awards to preserve and protect Florida’s military installations through economic and workforce development efforts that improve the state’s military-friendly environment for servicemembers, their families and military retirees.
Local awards through the Florida Defense Support Commission Grant Program include:
· City of Pensacola ($82,000) to provide natural gas supply redundancy for Naval Air Station Pensacola.
· Okaloosa County ($421,272) to acquire a 0.56-acre parcel of land to be used as part of a stormwater retention pond for critically needed highway expansion that will ensure better access to Eglin Air Force Base.
· Pensacola-Escambia Promotion & Development Commission ($200,000) to engage Navy stakeholders, develop project authority agreements, identify prospective tenants, assess military value enhancement opportunities, and create a comprehensive implementation and investment roadmap for Corry Station.
· Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners ($275,000) for a land and easement acquisition program protecting NAS Whiting Field and its Navy Outlying Fields (NOLFs) from incompatible development.
