A massive, well-educated workforce
North Florida Mega Industrial Park is located near the Florida/Georgia border, placing it in the center of an extensive labor shed. More than 800,000 workers live within a one-hour drive of the park, ensuring that employers have a steady supply of skilled, motivated individuals. To ensure that local residents are ready to meet the challenges of today’s innovative companies, local K-12 schools, colleges, and universities have a strong focus on the skills that are in demand.
At the K-12 level, the Columbia County School District and other districts within the region offer a wide variety of vocational training programs, preparing students for roles in today’s workforce. Among the many offerings you’ll find are engineering technology, welding, machining, business, culinary arts, 3-D printing, AutoCAD, agriculture, business, robotics, engineering, and aviation technology. Recognizing our area’s potential for the logistics and distribution industry, Columbia High School has established the Global Logistics Career Academy. The school also offers a program focused on aviation.
A terrific local workforce development partner is Florida Gateway College. Located directly adjacent to the park, FGC can provide immediate technical and employee training. The Business, Industrial, and Agricultural Programs area consists of multiple programs, including Business Administration, Engineering Technology, Horticulture, HVAC, Logistics & Supply Chain Management, and Welding, to name just a few.
Northern Florida and Southern Georgia have an abundance of postsecondary education opportunities. In fact, the region is home to at least 20 colleges and universities, many with strong national reputations for educational excellence. Many of the programs offered in these institutions have been designed to meet the specific needs of today’s workforce, among them advanced manufacturing, welding, automation and production technology, pneumatics and motors, engineering technology, agriculture, food and resource economics, supply chain management, logistics, transportation, forestry, and food sciences.
