When Pensacola State College welding student Joshua Gadolin heard the news that if he doesn’t find a job after finishing school, he’ll get his tuition back, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Wow,” he said slowly, letting it sink in. “That’s pretty incredible.”
What a deal, right? Does he plan on taking advantage of the “money back guarantee?” Not a chance.
“Oh no,” the 33-year-old former Army infantry solider said emphatically. “I’m going to get a job. That’s why I’m here.”
He’s in luck. According to the American Welding Association, 90,000 welding positions will have be filled each year through 2027.
“My students don’t have trouble finding jobs,” said PSC welding instructor Jac Rolison. “There’s a high demand for welders.”
So it seems a safe bet for PSC, which is offering the money-back tuition guarantees for students enrolled in certain programs: welding, registered nursing and paramedics. All three fields will grow in the coming years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
PSC and all colleges in the 28-school Florida College System are offering graduates a tuition refund as a stipulation of Florida’s 2021 Reimagining Education and Career Help Act, known as the REACH Act. The “Money-Back Guarantee Program” established the tuition refund for students who do not find jobs after completing select programs designed to prepare them for in-demand occupations.