Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant Program Annual Report
The Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant (PCOG/Pathways Grant) Program, administered by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), is an annual appropriation from the Florida Legislature in the General Appropriations Act that seeks applicants from High Schools, Charter Centers, Charter Technical Career Centers, Florida College System institutions and other entities authorized to sponsor an apprenticeship or preapprenticeship program as defined in 446.021, Florida Statutes (F.S.). The funds may be used to establish new, operate or expand existing apprenticeship or preapprenticeship programs. The FDOE is required by Rule 6A-20.046 Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), to report yearly on its website by December 31, information pertaining to the number of programs, retention, completion and employment rates and starting/ending salaries of apprentices and preapprentices associated with those funded programs.
Number of PCOG Programs
The Pathways Grant is a yearly appropriation determined by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in the General Appropriations Act (yearly budget). FDOE shall administer the grant, identify projects, solicit proposals and make funding recommendations to the Commissioner of Education, who is authorized to approve grant awards.
New Programs are defined as “a training plan for the program that meets the requirements for registration under Rules 6A-23.005, F.A.C. or 6A-23.10, F.A.C. Creation of a new program is evidenced by the submission of a program (plan) containing all the terms and conditions of the training to be submitted within the Standards of Apprenticeship or Preapprenticeship (administration documents) to FDOE to be considered for registration, per 446.021(5-6) F.S., and 6A-23.002(5)(24)(27) F.A.C.– 6A-23.010(2)(d) F.A.C.”
Expansion Programs are defined as “a certificate of registration awarded under 6A-23.003, F.A.C. or 6A-23.010 F.A.C. Expansion of an existing program is evidenced by an Apprenticeship Certificate of Registration which is issued by the FDOE that would contain a unique registration number provided by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) or Preapprenticeship Certificate of Registration which would contain a unique registration number provided and issued by the FDOE per 446.021(5-6) F.S. and 6A-23.002(5)(24)(27) F.A.C. – 6A-23.010(2)(d) F.A.C.”
Operating Programs are defined as “a program that is registered with the Florida SAA, is not and has no partnership with an LEA for the provision of related technical instruction, has an existing certificate of registration awarded under 6A-23.004, F.A.C. or 6A-23.010, F.A.C., and has the intention of utilizing this funding opportunity to operate an existing program.”
*This number includes the Grow Your Own Teacher Apprenticeship Program awardees. **The Operating category is a new category added in the 2023-2024 year.
Retention and Wage Rates (Starting/Ending Salaries and Salaries after One-Year of Completion)
Section 1011.802, Florida Statutes, requires an annual report detailing certain requirements of the Pathways to Career Opportunity Grant (PCOG) Program, as defined in Rule 6A-20.046 F.A.C. Those requirements include the number of funded programs, the retention rate, the starting and ending salaries for each occupation offered by the program and the apprentice wage one-year after completing the program.
Utilizing data already reported in the FDOE Annual Apprenticeship Report, the PCOG Program Office focuses specifically on appendices G and H-2. Any data that is not available within the Annual Apprenticeship Report is taken from the USDOL RAPIDS website. The RAPIDS website is a clearinghouse of apprenticeship- related program data from wage schedules, to starting and ending salaries and more.
The PCOG Program Office sorted the data relevant to PCOG from these sources (Annual Apprenticeship Report and USDOL-RAPIDS) and compiled the attached report.