CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion Will Offer Career Online High School to Local Out-of-School Youth and Adult Residents through WIOA Funding
Career Online High School (COHS) and CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion (CLM) have partnered to offer out-of-school youth and adults the opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma and credentialed career certificate. CareerSource CLM will use Title 1 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding to provide scholarships to COHS in an effort to upskill members of the local community and improve their employment outlook.
Part of an AdvancED/SACS/NWAC/NCA accredited online school district, COHS offers occupational training in fields such as child care, food service, retail, protection officer, and certified transportation concurrently with the high school diploma. COHS was the first secondary education provider in Florida to procure Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) eligibility.
“Earning a high school diploma is a prerequisite for many jobs, as it is for post-secondary career education,” said Rusty Skinner, CEO of CareerSource CLM. “What’s just as important is the fact that the high school diploma opens the door to additional training and that’s where we really begin to see differentiation in career opportunities. We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with COHS to help make that happen.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 2.7 million Florida residents 25 and older lack a high school diploma. At the same time, nearly 40% of Florida jobs require a minimum of a high school education. In addition, individuals with a high school diploma earn 37% more than those without a diploma according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We are thrilled that another Florida CareerSource regional workforce board is approved to use WIOA funding for COHS,” said Dr. Howard Liebman, Superintendent of Schools for the COHS district. “We designed the program to support the efforts of workforce boards in helping re-engage out-of-school youth and adults back into the educational system. As a Florida-based school district, we are especially proud to contribute to the social and economic health of our state through helping thousands of residents matriculate into post-secondary, industry-trained credential and/or apprenticeship programs.”
Once enrolled, each CareerSource CLM student will be paired with an Academic Coach, who will help them develop an individual career plan, offer them ongoing support, evaluate their performance, and connect them to the resources needed to demonstrate mastery of the course material. Academic courses will also be supported by state board-certified instructors.
About Career Online High School
Career Online High School was developed in 2012 through a partnership by ed2go, a division of Cengage that provides students with online continuing education and career training, and Smart Horizons Career Online Education in an effort to provide affordable, career-based online education opportunities for the millions of adults in the United States without high school diplomas.