What Jobs Skills Are Florida Students Learning?

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Adobe Photoshop is the top job skill Florida students are learning in school.

Earlier this week we told you about AMskills, a program bringing German-style apprenticeships to Tampa-area students.

Another way Florida has tried to help school prepare students for jobs is the Career and Professional Education Act. The law helps businesses create academies within public schools to train students and help them earn professional certifications. Those certifications can help students find a job or earn college credit.

Improving CAPE was a top priority of legislative leaders in 2013.

So what kinds of certifications are Florida students earning?

Computer skills are a top choice, with students learning how to edit and manipulate images, create web sites and use basic office software. Food protection is the top career-specific certification, followed by several medical certifications.

Learning to use drafting, accounting and other specialized programs is also popular.

Below are two charts showing the top 25 certifications earned, according to Florida Department of Education data. One chart shows the 2013-2014 school year (2014-2015 data won’t be available until later this year), while the other chart shows the most-earned certificates over the past seven years.