Vocational training nonprofit receives $3M federal grant

HOLIDAY — AmSkills, a vocational training nonprofit, has received a $3 million grant that was part of the recently passed federal budget. The funds, earmarked by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, will be used to complete the buildout of a workforce training innovation center in Holiday, a community of some 22,000 people in southern Pasco County.

In 2021, according to a press release, AmSkills bought a 4.5-acre parcel in Holiday and has been renovating a 13,600-square-foot building on the property. It will be used to train people for careers in CNC machining, metal fabrication, mechatronics and robotics.

The $3 million grant, the release states, will go toward the construction of a new building on the property that will feature virtual reality simulators and hands-on activities designed to educate teens and adults about career opportunities in the manufacturing sector. It will also offer summer and holiday camps for kids that will give them experience with new technologies such as drones and 3D printers.

“We envision both youth and adults visiting to explore and learn new careers that they had never considered before,” AmSkills President and CEO Tom Mudano states in the release. “Facilities are expected to include hands-on workshops, a 3-D printing lab, forklift and welding simulators, robotics training, outdoor maker space pavilion and the AmSkills administrative offices.”

Bilirakis, according to the release, is a longtime supporter of AmSkills.

“We are extremely grateful to Congressman Bilirakis for his continued support of AmSkills and for believing in us and the work we are doing,” Mudano states in the release.