PSC offers money-back guarantee if you don’t find job
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 indemand occupations.
To qualify for a refund, PSC President Ed Meadows said students must graduate in good standing, have documented proof of attending job fairs or submitting employment applications, including completing background checks and other requirements. Graduates must also be a Florida resident.
“All you have to do is try,” Meadows said. “The State has done this to ensure people lose nothing but their time. If you finish the programs and push all the buttons and still can’t find a job, you get your money back.”
So, no refunds if you finish the college programs and decide later to take up interpretive dance instead. Or if you’re a retired person picking up welding, nursing or EMT as a hobby and have no desire to pursue a job. Remember, there is the “documented proof ” requirement for refunds.
Meadows said the money-back program could be beneficial to potential students worried about cost.
“I truly believe this legislation was passed to try to attract individuals into these jobs programs who might be afraid they won’t be successful in finding a job after they finish their courses,” Meadows said. “They might be afraid to let go of money because money might be scarce. This helps alleviate that concern.”
Rolison spent 40 years as a professional welder.
“We have young people in this program who are looking for a job,” he said. “That’s why they’re here. So that’s (the guarantee) a pretty good deal. But if they finish this program, they shouldn’t have a problem finding a job.”
One of those students is 18-year-old Ethan Slater, a recent Navarre High School graduate who called the moneyback guarantee “a good deal,” but ...
“The plan is to finish the program next summer and get a job,” Slater said. “This is one of the jobs I always thought about during high school. You know, my dad − he’s a blue collar man, so this is just a good field for me. There’s a lot of demand.”
Call the PSC admission department at 850-484-2544 for information about the Money-Back Guarantee Program.