Employ Florida Banner Centers

Workforce Florida, Inc., in 2006, awarded grants totaling $6.2 million to establish 10 leading programs that focused on creating and providing cutting-edge training for workers in industries that are critical to sustaining and growing Florida's diverse economy. Since then two more Banner Centers have been recently added, Agriscience & Water Resources. For Banner Center Locations (click here).

Most Employ Florida Banner Centers are based at Florida community colleges or universities. They engage educational institutions, businesses, and workforce and economic development partners, among others, to provide a focal point for industry-specific knowledge and skills training. They serve as clearinghouses for companies needing training, create relevant and rigorous new curricula for training entry-level workers as well as those who need to upgrade their skills, and ensure that the training and education offered in Florida meets industry standards. The new curricula is portable, allowing it to be taught anywhere in the state. Each Employ Florida Banner Center has an Advisory Council made up of industry leaders along with state and regional education, economic development and workforce stakeholders. All of the Centers are charged with completing an assessment to gauge current and future demand for workers and identify training needed to sustain and expand businesses in their targeted industry. Learn more . . .

Employ Florida Banner Center for Manufacturing

A consortium led by Polk State College seeks to ensure that the knowledge and skills of Florida’s manufacturing workforce are as modern as the microchips, metals and medical devices they make. Thanks to a $500,000 grant award, in 2006, from Workforce Florida, Inc., the consortium formed and created the Employ Florida Banner Center for Manufacturing.

During its first year of operation, the Banner Center positioned itself as a key resource in the unified solution to provide a trained workforce for the sustainment and expansion of Florida’s manufacturing sector. It focused on advancing Florida’s manufacturing production workforce skills to an increased level of productivity and contributing to the expansion of the diversity of the state’s manufacturing industries.

Working with a five-county consortium of community colleges, regional manufacturers associations, and workforce boards, in conjunction with the Manufacturers Association of Florida (MAF), manufacturing companies, and the Florida Advanced Technological Education (FLATE) Center for Manufacturing Education, the Banner Center built a history of success and Year-1 start up achievements. These comprise a wide spectrum of activities spanning industry-driven academic and training manufacturing curriculum development and delivery efforts, to that of taking the beginning steps for establishing a unified workforce preparation system that creates the training and educational programs, curriculum, educational articulation pathways, and certifications needed to deliver required manufacturing workplace competencies.

The Center has created this system through partnerships that link secondary academies, technical school programs, community college degree programs, and entry-level/incumbent worker training with a national certification for manufacturing production workers. The certification chosen was the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) Production Technician certification. This certification assesses a student/worker’s foundational skill and knowledge in four broad areas common to all manufacturing sectors: Manufacturing Production and Process; Quality and Continuous Improvement; Maintenance Awareness; and Safety. This certification is industry defined and is portable across all manufacturing sectors.

All of the academic members of the consortium have become certified test centers for the MSSC certification. The Banner Center also is taking the statewide lead in creating, coordinating, and providing knowledge and skills upgrade training based on needs identified by Florida manufacturers. The Banner Center’s “Manufacturing Fundamentals” curriculum has been used statewide to train over 500 students comprising manufacturing employees, unemployed workers seeking a career in manufacturing, and secondary school students.

Contact Us

Phone:  863-297-1010
Email:   contact@banner-mfg.org
Polk State College
PSC Corporate College
999 Ave. H, NE - Station 100
Winter Haven, Florida 3388

Mission, Vision, and Goals of the Employ Florida Banner Center for Manufacturing

Mission:
Serve as the statewide resource center of choice for the evolving training, education, and support needs of Florida's high-performance manufacturing workforce.

Vision:
We are committed to providing development and support statewide to the high-performance manufacturing workforce for achieving the continuation and expansion of Florida's manufacturing industries.

Goals:

Goal 1: Provide workforce training and education programs/efforts that meet the evolving needs of Florida's manufacturing industries.

Goal 2: Increase the number of educational pathways for Florida's manufacturing workforce.

Goal 3: Serve as a statewide clearinghouse for/supplier of manufacturing workforce training, education, and certification information/activities.

Goal 4: Promote dynamic manufacturing workforce education, outreach, and
marketing programs.

Goal 5: Generate and optimize revenue streams necessary to establish a sustainable Center.

Goal 6: Build and support strategic partnerships that contribute to economic
development.