PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Since graduating high school, Nicholas Toribio hasn’t found a career path.
“Life has been sort of a fog. Just walking through it.”
While Toribio is enrolled in college, he’s also looking for options, which is what brought him to AmSkills in Pasco County.
“I want to learn. I want to get out there and do what interests me,” he said.
AmSkills said they are seeing more recent high school graduates come to their boot camp in Holiday to learn about careers in the electrical field, manufacturing and machining.
“People no longer have one route, which is you complete high school, you go to college, and you get a job. That was the route we had when we were growing up,” said Chief Operating Officer Alessandro Anzalone.
The National Student Clearing House found students enrolled in vocational community colleges are up 16%. That comes as college numbers drop because of high costs and changing views of the university system.
Bryson Hill is not satisfied with his retail job.
“$12 an hour. You bet it’s minimum wage,” Hill said.
Now, after learning at AmSkills, he’ll be meeting with companies where he can start at $20 an hour.
“It’s phenomenal, really. I’m really excited,” said Hill.
Toribio still plans on getting his college degree in cyber security, but says the certificates he gets here give him more options.
“I certainly need to study and hone down on those skills before I attempt,” Toribio.
The boot camp is open to people of all ages. They’ll have opportunities to interview with contractors, utility companies and manufacturers.
