If it’s hard for companies to find employees in these trying days, it’s even harder to find good, dependable workers who are knowledgeable and well-trained in their crafts.

It’s no different when it comes to the construction industry.

“I’ve hired a lot of people who have done really shoddy work,’’ said PSC carpentry student Brandi Lowery.

PSC’s workforce programs have earned a reputation as leaders in construction and workforce technology in the state. A new $15,000 grant from SkillsUSA/Lowe’s will enhance an already strong PSC workforce program.

Brian Weaver considers himself fortunate that he found Pensacola State College. He wasn’t really aware of PSC – he’s from Oil City, Pennsylvania after all – until applying for the position of Visual Arts Department head.

Now that he’s here in the Department head position, Weaver wants to help ensure that more people find out about PSC and particularly the Visual Arts Department, which, he said, is one of the finest he’s ever been affiliated with.

“What I’ve encountered at PSC has been phenomenal,’’ said Weaver, previously an Associate Professor of Art at Texas A&M University. 

It’s almost as if Christine O’Donnell’s vocation was written for her. Of course, whatever was written, O’Donnell would have been happy to identify all the parts of speech and diagram the sentences.

“I was the student who enjoyed diagramming sentences,’’ she said, chuckling. “I’ve always been interested in English, even in high school.”

Today, O’Donnell is Assistant Department Head of the PSC English and Communications Department, a job she was promoted to in May.

Tyra Henderson started out at Pensacola State College as an EKG student, earning her certificate in the health care field in 2016.

She worked in health care for a few years, but when the pandemic hit, she said she just “couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I was steered into health care because of the job market,’’ Henderson said. “But it wasn’t for me. I always wanted to be in academics.”

Now, Henderson is the newest PSC Student Services Adviser on the Milton campus.