Some 200 students in Valencia College’s Accelerated Training programs will receive scholarships that can be used to pay for rent, food or other expenses.
Today, Valencia College celebrates an exciting new partnership that will make skills training for in-demand jobs available to many more Central Florida residents. Our northwest Orlando location is now Heart of Florida United Way Center for Accelerated Training. pic.twitter.com/r5yf4HvTaz
— Valencia College (@valenciacollege) November 15, 2022
The Live United Scholarships will provide a $125 dollar a week stipend to students in Valencia’s Accelerated Training programs in Pine Hills.
Jeff Hayward is president of Heart of Florida United Way. He says the goal is to help these students complete their certifications in high-demand and high-paying fields, like carpentry and maintenance.
“It helps the individuals, certainly helps the market because we do need skilled labor, and it helps our economy at the same time.”
Valencia College President Kathleen Plinske says students who graduate from the program can break the cycle of generational poverty.
“And so this will really help support our students, it may allow them to perhaps step away from work so that they can truly focus on the short-term training program that they need in order to accelerate their career and move into a job that's in high demand and pays high wages in Central Florida.”
The money comes in part from a $20 million dollar donation Heart of Florida received from none other than philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos.
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