Florida HBA Opens New 43,000-Square-Foot Workforce Education Center

The Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA) debuted its new 43,000-square-foot Workforce Education Center and headquarters with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 13 in Jacksonville.

The new facility features 11 classrooms, a 300-seat auditorium and four hands-on labs for NEFBA's Apprenticeship Program, a four-year Florida Department of Education-certified workforce development program. NEFBA acquired the new facility in 2025 to accommodate its growing program before completing a $7.5 million renovation.

"This facility has been something that's been talked about for a long time, and finally the NEFBA officers and apprenticeship program leaders decided it was time to move forward," said NEFBA Executive Officer Jessie Spradley. "We were able to find the right building for the right price. You can sense there's a movement nationally to fund workforce development programs, and we were able to find partners who also supported this effort."

NEFBA raised $6 million for the project through its Together We Build capital campaign, which included $1.1 million from the state of Florida and $1 million from the city of Jacksonville.

The new facility provides the classroom and lab capacity needed to train more apprentices as Florida faces continued demand for skilled workers. NEFBA's apprenticeship program combines classroom instruction with paid, on-the-job training, and students finish with a Florida Department of Education Apprenticeship Certificate of Completion.

Classes began Aug. 17 for the new facility's first cohort of 550 apprentices.

"For us, this is about stability," Spradley said. "Because this is an industry-owned facility, we will never kick ourselves out or worry about being replaced by another career and technical education program.

"Also, because our apprentices go to school at night and the facility is open during the day, we can explore short-term construction-ready training and other training opportunities. We have more options now while still supporting the core mission of our traditional apprenticeship program."