Education Matters: Get Credentialed—Fast!—at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

By Ryan G. Van Cleave
April 2021

Employers in our community need workers—right now! And State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) is addressing this need through a rapid credentialing opportunity called “Get Credentialed. Get Noticed!” that helps unemployed and underemployed people find new careers or advance in existing ones. 

This new initiative—which is part of a Florida Department of Education statewide workforce campaign—delivers vital education ranging from one-day programs all the way through two-year degrees. Terri Clark, dean of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development, says, “We want employers to think of us first when they need skill training or retraining for their employees. We already have the content experts here, and we’re teaching the students of today who are their workers of tomorrow.” 

SCF has a long history of finding community partners, and that’s the case with “Get Credentialed. Get Noticed!” Florida Power and Light (FPL), for example, is helping out. Because the pandemic has forced so much education online, having quality laptops is a must, and FPL is providing free laptops for those who need it.

There’s also scholarship money available to ensure people who are interested in the rapid credentialing initiative have the opportunity to complete it. SCF brings additional support, too, via Jennifer Boris, their Workforce Education Outreach Specialist. The program also offers a one-stop career-finding resource through a partnership with Career Source Suncoast. They meet with students to ensure they know about relevant job openings within our community, then guide them through applying for the job, which includes helping with resume and interview skills.

“What we offer is truly what I like to call wraparound services,” says Clark. “It represents the commitment of SCF and our external partners to empower our students with the credentials they need to create a career pathway for themselves and their family though self-sustaining jobs.”

One success story is Kate Kinney, who already earned a two-year Associate in Arts degree from SCF and is well on her way to a Bachelor of Applied Science in the Public Safety and Emergency Management program with a focus in Administration. Through SCF programs, she’s also already obtained her insurance adjuster license and attended trainings on community response and leadership.

Once Kinney learned about the rapid credentialing initiative, she knew it was a great fit and is now earning a Business Specialist certificate. Best of all, SCF provided her with both a scholarship and a laptop. “This means everything to me,” she says about that generosity. “I work full time to support myself and my mother who became permanently disabled about two years ago. A scholarship means I’m able to afford books and other things when previously I would’ve had to make a choice between getting them and making sure I had enough money for other essentials.”

Prior to receiving the new laptop provided by FPL, Kinney was using a six-year-old laptop that struggled to load programs. Having an up-to-date machine makes all the difference in helping her get classwork done and keeping her career plans on track. 

Another rapid-credentialing student who received a laptop was so overcome that she broke into tears—she was sharing a laptop with her child who needed it for their own distance learning. Once this mom received her own laptop from FPL, it freed her to do her schoolwork when she needed to versus waiting until the child went to bed. For her, a free laptop was a technological—and career—lifeline.

“I’m fairly new to the industry I work in and it’s my first corporate job,” Kinney admits. “I don’t have a ton of experience with businesses and the operations behind them, so the rapid credentialing program has made gaining valuable insight very easy. By obtaining additional certificates, I can potentially move up within the organization or expand out into the community to find next-level jobs.”

That’s the outcome Clark and SCF want. “We listen to the needs of industry,” Clark says. “We try to make sure that we have training or programs that align to those needs so that we’re properly educating the students. It’s all about career readiness—we want them to be truly ready to find a job and then be successful at keeping it.”

The “Get Credentialed. Get Noticed!” initiative runs through the end of summer 2021, and there’s a chance it might be funded beyond that. Clark recommends that people with any interest in the certificates and degrees available through this initiative—which range from digital publishing to homeland security specialist, business entrepreneurship to database administrator, and network infrastructure to preschool teacher specialization—should check out the specifics today. 

People often say, “Oh, I don’t have time to do this. I can’t make that kind of long-term educational investment.” But Clark points out that a certificate program could be a mere 12 months, or less. And she adds that “They also might think the modality would be instructor-led in the classroom, 8 am to noon, three days a week. While that might be one delivery option, SCF also has courses that are completely online, as well as hybrid models.”

For those who have more challenging schedules or needs, SCF is open to working with them to truly customize delivery options to meet the needs of the individual. Kinney echoes this, saying that “SCF and their faculty have been endlessly accommodating, flexible, and helpful. The professors, the financial aid staff, and the program directors are always available and quick to respond. They make education easy, accessible, and affordable.”

One of the main goals of SCF president Dr. Probstfeld is to be a workforce driver within our area. With the efforts of SCF’s Workforce division being so well supported by “Get Credentialed. Get Noticed!”, they’re on their way to doing exactly that.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, please visit Programs.SCF.edu/GetNoticed or call 941.363.7216.