PC port expansion funds

Workforce training in a variety of high-paying, high-tech and skilled trades got a boost thanks to restoration funds resulting from the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Triumph Gulf Coast, the Florida organization charged with overseeing the distribution of the money, approved about $19M in grants on April 27 for counties in Northwest Florida. It includes $3M for the Escambia County (Fla.) School District and Pensacola State College for workforce development, allowing both to expand its pipeline for training and certifying students for careers in information technology, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and aviation/aerospace. The grant was one of the first four projects approved in what is expected to be $1.5B worth of job-creating initiatives funded over 12 years. One of the other projects is $10M for the Port of Panama City, Fla. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 04/28/18)