JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville-based workforce organization is working to change the way high school students think about skilled trades — and it’s taking that message directly to them.
WareWorks Skilled Trades Institute held a launch event Wednesday to unveil its three-tiered approach to getting more young people interested in trade careers. The program focuses on awareness, hands-on experience, and career connection.
“There’s so many organizations out there that are doing just great work, right, but there’s still some gaps,” WareWorks CEO Karen Bowling said. “And so how do we work with them to help close those gaps.”
What WareWorks is — and what it isn’t
Despite having “institute” in its name, WareWorks is not a trade school.
“It is not a trade school,” Bowling said. “What it is, is we are focused really on how do we get more high school students exposed to the skilled trade and make those connections through community partnerships.”
The organization is based in the former Venus Swimwear headquarters — a 135,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville.
“There’s so many different versions of the trades,” said Chris Ware, founder of WareWorks Skilled Trades Institute.
Ware said partners already in the space include the University of North Florida. He also described plans for FSCJ in a culinary space, UNF’s Sculpture Department, and potential medical simulation labs through UNF or Baptist Health.
The three-tiered approach
The first tier is awareness.
“We’ve got to make the kid, the ninth grader and his parent and his community accepting that a career path in the trades is a great way to go,” Ware said.
The second tier is hands-on experience. WareWorks partnered with B-Pro B-Proud to bring a mobile learning lab — a mobile workshop — directly to students across Jacksonville.
“As spread out as Jacksonville is, it’s hard to bring them to a location like this,” Bowling said. “So we want to go out to where they are.”
The third tier is career connection. WareWorks created a career platform, accessible through its website, designed to match students with jobs in the trades.
“What students tell us they want is who has the job, what do they pay, and what would I be a good fit for,” Bowling said.
The website provides all of those connections in one place, Bowling confirmed.