The Value of STEAM Education in Jacksonville
Minister, CEO & Educator William Jackson
Jacksonville Today
https://jaxtoday.org/2025/10/27/holon-autonomous-vehicles-jacksonville/
Video https://youtu.be/HQoVKsB37ZA
Audio
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6oVeTLymzT6es88b8PUKYi?si=3c4BZ1QCTkSW1qnt2VqAng
It is always exciting to hear about new businesses
coming to Jacksonville. The potential start of new
careers, financial growth, opportunities and
sustainability for students across Jacksonville.
The danger and reality is are our students really
prepared and ready with the “soft-skills” and
digital skills necessary to be employed by high
tech businesses.
In “Jacksonville Today” 10/28/2025 it was published,
Autonomous vehicle manufacturer Holon signed an
agreement with the Jacksonville Transportation
Authority…… to make its vehicles at a
manufacturing plant it plans to build on the Northside.
This news is amazing to me as a STEAM teacher and
a business owner. My concern is the students that
will be applying prepared with the necessary technological
knowledge needed to be hired, trained and employed.
Holon, a German company that expects to produce about
5,000 vehicles a year as stated in the article by Dan Scanlan.
HOLON is establishing its first U.S. production facility
in Jacksonville, Florida, which will manufacture autonomous
transit shuttles. This is historic and open Jacksonville
for other international businesses to come. The facility
is expected to be completed on the Northside in 2026.
In my last 2 yrs before retiring I taught with the CTE
program with DCPS at a middle school, it was both
rewarding and worrisome. Many students have great
abilities, talents and dreams to be employed in tech
positions but are they prepared for the demands and
requirements? Schools are losing monies that are
needed for many vital areas of support. Now those
monies are being drained away.
My wife and I attended several trainings about this
same technology several yrs ago at FSCJ (Industry
Standard 5.0 and IoT 3.0) that had a demo bus. It was
amazing and the tech is futuristic. The push was to
find potential students and train them early.
FSCJ is still looking for public school collaborations,
partnerships and relationships. The city is giving the
company $7.5 million toward construction of the
plant, but what of the ability of our schools to train
necessary workers?
The vocational schools lack the ability and high schools
as well. Again, our students may miss out on tech careers
that are needed here at home, while work is taken over by
potential German or other foreign workers. It seems that
the priority is still focusing on outside workers with tech
skills already instead of training, mentoring and preparing
students already here and willing to work. There is an
expected economic impact of about $90 million and could
employ over 1,000 people. Our schools need to prepare
students for more careers like this, but will all our
students be ready, able and technologically prepared?
(My Quest To Teach)
