St. Petersburg College awarded $2 million-per-year workforce contract to run EDGE program in South St. Petersburg CRA

The St. Petersburg City Council unanimously approved a three-year agreement (with two one-year renewal options) on January 8 to award workforce readiness and development services in the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) to St. Petersburg College.

City staff described the contract as not to exceed $6,000,000 for the three-year initial term, presented as $2,000,000 per year. Andrea Falvey, director of Economic and Workforce Development, told the council the RFP emphasized industry-aligned training, wraparound supports and partnerships with local providers to prepare CRA residents for jobs in targeted sectors including marine and life sciences, financial services, specialized manufacturing, data analytics and construction-related fields.

Valencia Berry, dean of Workforce Development and Corporate Partnerships at St. Petersburg College, said the college will deliver both soft-skill and hands-on technical training, including nationally recognized industry certifications and short modular courses. Berry said the EDGE program intends to recruit a minimum of 700 participants per year and assign career coaches to graduates for one to two years of follow-up support. "If we don't have it, we can build it," Berry said, describing partnerships with Pinellas Technical College, CDC of Tampa and other local providers.

Falvey and college staff noted prior program outcomes: according to SPC, earlier iterations of the St. Pete Works program reportedly recruited 2,737 residents over five years, offered employability training to 1,307 participants and placed 556 participants in employment. Falvey told council that first-year funds were previously appropriated in the FY2026 CRA budget; funding for subsequent years will be provided in future CRA budgets.

Council members sought details on program metrics, construction-focused curriculum and reporting. Dean Berry said SPC has built a data-analytics dashboard and can supply industry- and outcome-specific reports to city staff and council. Councilmember Brandy Gabbard pressed for clarity on how specialized construction apprenticeships would be staged if additional state funding is approved; Berry and staff said programs can be built or scaled within months with industry partners and apprenticeship elements.

The council asked staff to provide reporting to members; staff committed to sending monthly or quarterly reports and maintaining a year-over-year dashboard of participant outcomes. The motion to approve the contract passed unanimously.