On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced two colleges on the First Coast will launch the Northeast Florida Fintech Initiative.
With the help of $3.6 million from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College will created the initiative which the governor’s office noted is a “partnership between both colleges, regional schools, nonprofits and numerous financial services companies to provide new financial technology, or ‘FinTech’ training and certification opportunities.”
DeSantis weighed in on the new project on Wednesday.
“I’m pleased to launch the Northeast Florida FinTech Initiative in conjunction with Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. John’s River State College,” said DeSantis. “This innovative collaboration to provide new FinTech-related training and certifications will help equip Floridians with skills in demand by Northeast Florida’s growing FinTech industry.”
The funds will help the initiative create “two FinTech Technical Certificate Programs, a FinTech Support Technician Boot Camp Academy and will embed FinTech related skills and coursework into existing programs related to Accounting, Business Administration, Financial Services and Information Technology” and “will also include the creation of a new externship program and working connections program” which “will provide leaders of nearby K-12 schools with valuable skills and information needed to introduce students to the FinTech industry and will offer real-world industry experiences to college faculty.”
“Governor DeSantis has a vision for making Florida the premier destination for top FinTech companies,” said Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Executive Director Ken Lawson. “He knows that bridging the gap between education and the private sector to ensure our workforce has the skills needed for businesses to succeed is not only a smart, but critical investment for our state. Today’s announcement is a significant step in making that vision a reality and our agency, along with our partners at Enterprise Florida, Inc., are proud to be a part of it.”
“Today is a giant leap into the kind of job training that will put Floridians in good-paying jobs and our growing FinTech sector on the global map,” said Enterprise Florida (EFI) President and CEO Jamal Sowell. “Floridians can be proud today, knowing that our Governor is working overtime to remove barriers for emerging FinTech firms and making Florida the place to be for long-term sector growth.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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