Apprenticeship opportunity coming to students at Dunbar High School

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From the classroom to careers— The Lee County School District is partnering with major local trade companies to meet a big demand for skilled working, and the program guarantees good jobs.

The name of the program says it all—”Train to Gain”, and the selected students from Dunbar Highschool will train in construction for eight weeks.

With those skills, they will be able to gain a well-paying job right out of high school.

Starting next month the students will go to Southwest Florida Enterprise Center twice a week after school. The idea is that the students will get hired by one of eight local companies partnering with the district for this program.

One of the businesses on the list is Target Roofing, who is currently working on Hotel Indigo in the Downtown Fort Myers area.

All of the training will focus on trade skills like roofing or electrical, and since the program is funded through the city it will be no cost to the student.

Local companies say they have seen a shortage of trade workers so it’s a win-win for students and businesses.

“I think it would help the entire labor market here in SWFL…it’s not just roofing that’s experiencing these shortages, plumbing, electrical, all of the major trades are having the same issues,” said Rast Bryant of Target Roofing & Sheet Metal.

A big reason why they chose to start the program at Dunbar High School is that it is within walking distance of the training center. But if the pilot program goes well, they hope to expand it to other schools in the district.

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