State College
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
A P RI L 2 0 2 1
VO LUME 5, NO. 03
PUBLIC SAFETY EXCELS
how nwfsc is helping our students
Program
IM
L J US
T
State Average %
Paramedic
88
73
EMT
91
74
Fire
97
96.5
Law Enforcement
85
81
Corrections
85
83
IN
ER
E
A
INA
IC
(continued on next page)
TR
Northwest Florida State College is leading the charge when it comes to providing many different pathways to quality careers that provide family sustaining wages with high job satisfaction. We have stepped forward to develop some of the first state-recognized apprenticeship and internship programs in the region in response to Governor DeSantis’ charge to make Florida the leader in workforce development by 2030. In September 2020, the Florida Department of Education launched its workforce education initiative Get There Florida, aimed at raising the awareness of short-term career and technical education programs. Career Education is engaging, transformative, and leads to better academic and employment outcomes. A recent national survey conducted by the ECMC Group, polled high school students ages 14 to 18 and found only 53% of the participants were ‘likely to attend a four-year school,’ down from 71% prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students are beginning to expand their horizons and think untraditionally about careers and connectivity to post-secondary education. When polled, • 61% of respondents believe a skill-based education (such as trade skills, nursing and STEM) makes sense. • 45% of respondents agree that a program they can complete in a shorter period of time (within two years) makes sense. • Nearly 25% of respondents are more likely to attend a CTE school due to their experience with the pandemic.
CR
#GetThereFL
Certification Test Pass Rate %
IN G CEN
T
Our public safety programs have proven to be a force to be reckoned with, especially during the pandemic. First responders are not only in high-demand, but carried the weight of pandemic as essential workers. In the 2020 academic year, our public safety programs continued to meet in-person to provide hands-on learning for those called into the field. Our student’s certification passing rates reflected the exemplary work of our instructors in preparing them for the real-world.
GETTING INTO FRONTLINE CAREERS FASTER Cassie Freitas was tired of pushing off her dreams. So in August of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, she decided it was time to finally go for it and get her Emergency Medical Technician certification. “I had psyched myself out of it, thought I wasn’t smart enough for it,” Freitas said of why she had put off the certification for so long. “I didn’t think I could do it after all of these years. When the shutdown happened I was just sitting at home and I thought, ‘I just need to go for it, no matter what age I am.’” After just four months, Freitas completed her EMT license and got a job with Okaloosa County Emergency Medical Services. Realizing a lifelong dream and coming to the aid of pandemic-weary first responders was her motivation and Freitas said that her time at Northwest Florida State College was invaluable to her success.
“Through my clinical training at the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, Okaloosa County EMS, and Ocean City-Wright Fire Department, I was awarded the privilege to work alongside Paramedics, EMTs, fire fighters, nurses and doctors,” she said. “I witnessed, firsthand, their compassion, grit, tenacity, and skill and was inspired to
(continued on next page)