Hernando School Board approves apprenticeship partnership projected to bring $400,000

Hernando County School Board members approved an apprenticeship partnership that district leaders say could generate nearly $400,000 while steering students into paid construction careers that do not require a four-year degree. The deal links Wilton Simpson Technical College with ABC Apprenticeship and is designed to deliver classroom instruction, paid on-the-job training and industry credentials through the district.

The workshop item was on the board’s May 26, 2026 agenda and district materials described it as an ongoing training arrangement, not the launch of a new campus in Brooksville. The agreement carries no cost to the district in the current or prior fiscal year, and the revenue estimate comes from a model that runs student counts through the district and lets Hernando keep 10 percent for its own programs, according to Peter Dyga, president and CEO of the ABC Institute.

Using the reported figure of $484 per student and more than 800 students already in the ABC Institute system, the district could begin with about $400,000 in revenue. ABC says its network includes 67 chapters and affiliates, more than 800 apprenticeship, craft, safety and construction-management education programs nationwide, and more than 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs approved through the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship.

The program would feed nine trades: electrical, line erector, plumbing, HVAC, fire sprinkler, pipe fitting, roofing, welding and form carpentry. That mix gives Hernando County students and adult learners a direct route into fields that are in steady demand across Florida, especially in construction and building services, where employers continue to say they need more skilled workers.

For now, the local setup remains a partnership rather than a stand-alone Hernando site. Dr. Radiah Dent, the director of adult and technical education at Wilton Simpson Technical College, said the district is acting as the local education agency. Anyone enrolling would have to travel to Tampa because that chapter covers the area, though board chair Kayce Hawkins asked whether the program could develop more of a local footprint. Dyga said ABC can move quickly if a local employer is willing to host an in-house program.

The larger question for Hernando is whether the agreement becomes a real workforce ladder for residents who want stable, local employment without taking on the cost of a four-year degree. Florida’s Department of Education has promoted registered apprenticeship as a skilled-workforce pathway, and the state’s Apprentice Florida initiative is pushing employers and students toward those programs. Hernando County’s own workforce planning materials also point to continued work with skilled-trade training organizations to expand access to high-demand career pathways.

The board’s approval gives the county a new tool, but the measure of success will come later: how quickly enrollment grows, how many local employers step in, and whether the partnership turns state education dollars into jobs that keep more Hernando workers closer to home.