Chipola College President Dr. Sarah Clemmons, holding the ceremonial check at left, other Chipola officials, and students in the welding and construction programs there pose with a ceremonial $1.7 million grant check that represents the recent award of U.S. HUD dollars administered by Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity.
A student in Chipola’s new construction technology program carries a panel to the mock roof his group is working on in their lab.
Instructor Curtis Jenkins explains some of the finer points of welding to some of his students as a demonstration gets underway.
Students in Chipola’s new construction technology program work together to solve a building puzzle Wednesday.
Chipola College President Dr. Sarah Clemmons chats with the only female student in the Chipola welding program at the moment, Chelsea Schwondeman, who later spoke at the podium about how the program has enriched her life and put her on the path to a successful high-wage career in a field that also provides her an outlet for expressing artistic skills.
A Chipola College construction technology student hammers nails into key spots on a mock roof he and his fellow students are working on in labs there.
Chipola’s Dean of Workforce Development Darwin Gilmore, left, and Chipola College President Sarah Clemmons talk to Dr. David Gross of Florida State University-Panama City campus. The three were informally discussing ways in which the schools could work together.
Marshall Masai, foreground, works with classmates in the Chipola College construction technology program. He enrolled as a way to embark on a second career in his later working years.
Chipola College announced during a Wednesday press conference the award of a $1.7 million grant to support its welding and building construction programs.
The grant funds will be used to expand those courses of study.
Chipola’s Construction Technology program is new to the curriculum this year and is led by instructor Scott Phelps in preparing students for employment or advanced training in the field.
The 1,050-clock-hour program covers electrical, plumbing, heating/ventilation/air conditioning, masonry, carpentry, and the use of hand and power tools.
Students also will work with math and construction drawings of floor systems, walls, ceilings and roofing. They are exposed to all the steps in a building process and to entrepreneurship skills for those who want to start their own businesses.
The school’s welding program is in its seventh year.
Instructor Curtis Jenkins leads that program, which school officials say uses state-of-the-art welding equipment, mobile welding units, and simulation technologies.
Workforce Florida projects annual growth of 13,500 jobs in advanced manufacturing and construction, with 75 percent of those requiring postsecondary training. Better-than-average annual growth is predicted for the welding trades.
