MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Evelyn Lopez is looking forward to a career in the medical industry. This summer, she turned to the REACH Center to get the journey started.
"I just want more experience and more exposure in, like, the medical field," Lopez said.
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Lopez was one of 10 students to participate in a medical administrative assistant cohort. She has since passed the certification exam and is exploring job opportunities.
"My parents were really proud of me because it's just like you have more opportunities and more open doors to what you want to do," Lopez said.
The program was one of the first classes available at the REACH Center. Construction of the roughly $4.5 million workforce training center wrapped up earlier this year. It is now hosting technical aviation courses for Daher Aerospace.
George Stokus, assistant county administrator, said the center is designed to serve a broad range of people.
"We are targeting those who are unclear or are uncertain of what their future is and it may not involve college. It is those who don't have the financial means to go right into college. As well as we're dealing with adults who want to make a career change or improve their skills," Stokus said.
These programs are the first of many designed to create a local pipeline for jobs the county says are in demand, focusing on industries like aviation, marine, medicine, manufacturing, and environmental studies.
Ted Astolfi, CEO and president of the Economic Council of Martin County, said the center's mission goes beyond job training.
"We create upward economic mobility for our community and that's really important because we don't want people staying at a certain level, we want them to grow in our community for better jobs," Astolfi said.
Now, students like Lopez are walking away with skills they need to succeed.
"They actually got some people to come and give us like a mock interview. It was a really like good experience so we can know how to be prepared for an interview," Lopez said.
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