DeSantis Directs $23 Million to Boost Florida Defense, Aerospace and Trade Training

Overview

• Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the awards in Jacksonville on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, allocating roughly $23 million from multiple state programs to workforce, spaceport and defense-related projects across Florida.
• Florida State College at Jacksonville will receive $7 million to buy and renovate a vacant building at Cecil Center North and create the Cecil Training Institute to expand HVAC and welding capacity for workers projected to enter those fields over the next decade.
• The Florida Department of Transportation’s Spaceport Improvement Program provided $5 million, in partnership with Space Florida, to design and build a large rocket motor test stand at Cecil Spaceport to support commercial space activity and testing.
• Other awards include $3.5 million to Palm Bay for wastewater transmission and site infrastructure at Phoenix Business Park, $3 million to Northwest Florida State College to build a Maritime Fabrication Training Center, and about $1.7 million to Polk State College for a commercial vehicle driving program.
• Officials say the grants build on prior local investments and the Job Growth Grant Fund’s multi-year strategy to link training and infrastructure to industry recruitment, a move meant to relieve program crowding, replace retiring skilled workers, and attract defense and aerospace tenants to Florida sites.