Pasco County Approves $2.4 Million AmSkills Deal

Pasco County commissioners voted 3-2 on Oct. 20 to approve a three-year, $2.43 million funding agreement for AmSkills, a nonprofit organization that provides manufacturing job training.

The vote committed $810,000 annually to the group, with commissioners Ron Oakley and Seth Weightman casting the dissenting votes.

The new agreement ties the majority of the funds to specific performance metrics.

Under the terms, AmSkills receives $300,000 upfront each year to train 200 Pasco County residents. The remaining $510,000 is released only if the organization verifies that residents have secured full-time manufacturing or technical jobs.

The county pays $8,500 for each of the up to 60 verified job placements per year. County Planning and Economic Development Director David Engel stated that the money comes from Penny for Pasco funds and covers program costs rather than salaries or general operations.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey supported the deal, describing it as an investment in the local workforce rather than a handout.

Starkey noted that Pasco already provides $1 million annually to CareerSource under a five-year agreement. She argued that AmSkills deserves similar stability because it conducts the actual training, unlike CareerSource which refers people to providers.

Starkey initially proposed a five-year contract but agreed to the three-year term after Commissioner Jack Mariano suggested the board could revisit the agreement later.

Commissioner Seth Weightman argued that AmSkills has operated for 12 years and continues to seek government support.

Weightman pointed to a $150,000 loan the nonprofit currently owes the county, asking if the new funds would be used to pay off that accruing debt. Engel answered no and guaranteed that AmSkills would repay the loan using private contributions by the end of fiscal 2027.

Weightman stated that AmSkills had been bailed out earlier in the year after experiencing declining grant funding and delayed employer contributions. He characterized the new request as another lifeline for a private not-for-profit that had not established financial independence.

The county provided seed funding to AmSkills in 2014 when it was a pilot program. Since then, the organization has received approximately $2.6 million from the county. During that 12-year period, AmSkills developed 29 workforce programs and trained more than 3,000 people. It placed 193 people in full-time manufacturing jobs and helped nearly 1,100 individuals earn industry credentials. The new agreement targets 180 full-time job placements over the next three years. Engel said the organization has a new CEO and a board-approved business plan that position it to meet these goals while the county monitors its finances and bookkeeping closely.