AmSkills tells Pinellas commissioners its two‑week boot camps help adults find manufacturing jobs

AmSkills CEO Tom updated the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on April 3 about a decade‑old workforce program that pairs manufacturers with both high‑school students and adults to produce rapid placements into entry‑level jobs.

Tom said AmSkills moved from after‑school classes into in‑school programs and adult training to build a larger pipeline. “We created what’s now called the AmSkills Career Discovery Boot Camp for adults,” he said, adding the boot camp is a two‑week program, charges $35 per participant, and guarantees interviews on the final day with multiple hiring employers.

The nut graf: County staff and commissioners said they see AmSkills as a potential partner for training and neighborhood workforce initiatives, and county staff noted work is underway to design a competitive grant program using proceeds from the Science Center sale that would match employer‑aligned training projects.

In his presentation Tom described a multi‑track approach. AmSkills runs a high‑school curriculum developed with manufacturers — first at Northeast High School and later at other schools — plus homeschools and youth pre‑apprenticeship pathways. For adults, the boot camp mixes plant tours, safety training, short projects, certifications and employer interviews. “On the final day, each person is guaranteed interviews with multiple hiring employers,” Tom said.

Speakers at the meeting and several boot‑camp participants gave brief testimonials. One participant described changing careers at age 53 after an AmSkills flyer led to enrollment: “Not only did AmSkills give me the skills to change careers at 53 years old … I never would have thought I could have changed them,” the participant said.

Tom said AmSkills has broadened employer connections since a 2020 Talent Pipeline Management effort in the Tampa Bay region that asked local firms to identify entry‑level hiring needs. He said the organization has worked with “over 85 to a hundred companies” and described AmSkills’ model as a rapid reemployment pipeline that also offers registered pre‑apprenticeship training and micro‑credentials that can articulate into St. Petersburg College and other institutions.

Tom described facility capacity in Pasco County where AmSkills operates a 14,000–15,000 square‑foot training center on 4.5 acres (funded in part by Community Development Block Grants and state funds) and noted a nationally recognized award for the facility. He said AmSkills plans to expand to three high schools next year and will start a vocational program for learners with autism. “We transform one life at a time,” he told commissioners.

County Administrator Barry (staff) told the board staff is drafting criteria for a competitive training grant program that would use proceeds from the Science Center sale; the program would match training projects with employers and offer up to a 50 percent match, and the Pinellas Business Alliance will help develop evaluation criteria.

AmSkills provided placement figures and impact estimates during the meeting: Tom said AmSkills places “about a hundred” people per year on average depending on the number of camps run, and he said since 2020 AmSkills estimated approximately $2,500,000 of economic impact to Pinellas County from placed participants.

Why it matters: Commissioners said they are interested in scalable workforce training that can connect residents to locally available, higher‑paying jobs in manufacturing and utilities and that can help the county address an aging workforce. Commissioners encouraged AmSkills to keep coordinating with county utilities and other public employers on paid internship opportunities.

Next steps: Staff said it will continue to develop the Science Center sale grant criteria and circulate evaluation details to the board and to AmSkills. AmSkills invited commissioners to a closing ceremony for a current boot camp at the Lealman Exchange later that week.

Ending: The presentation closed with an offer from AmSkills to partner further with the county on expanded in‑school programs and adult training; commissioners thanked the group and asked staff to follow up on grant criteria and partnership opportunities.