More than 5,000 students from all over Florida will gather next week in Pensacola for the 2012 Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo and Florida SkillsUSA State Competition.

Florida SkillsUSA competitors will face off to showcase their technical trade talents and leadership abilities at the Florida SkillsUSA State Competition, which will be held conjunction with the Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo April 29 through May 2 at the Pensacola Civic Center.

The Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo will showcase businesses and vendors in technical and vocational career fields by engaging more than 3,000 local seventh- and eighth-grade students, and more than 2,000 high school and college students from throughout the state of Florida. The expo will feature exciting hands-on and interactive experiences in 16 “worlds” and “industry sectors” ranging from the “World of Energy” to the “World of Finance.”

Gulf Power Company will be participating in the “World of Energy” experience.

“We are so excited to participate in the ‘World of Energy’ again this year,” said Jennifer Grove, Gulf Power’s Workforce Development coordinator. “We’re hopeful this expo will help spark the interest of many students to carefully consider their education so they can begin preparing for a career.”

The four-day event, which is estimated to have a $2.5 million economic impact on our local community, is being hosted by Pensacola State College and coordinated through the efforts of business representatives from Gulf Power, Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce/VISIT Pensacola, Associated General Contractors, Southern Solutions Inc., Workforce Education, Escambia County Tourism Development Council and the Santa Rosa County and Escambia County School Districts.    

One of the new events added this year is an Emerald Coast Classic Electrathon 120 race competition, sponsored by the Gulf Power Engineering Society, which will be held April 28 at Five Flags Speedway on Pine Forest Road. High school competitors from across the state, as well as teams from Arkansas and Texas, will race electric vehicles in two 60-minute races. Practice starts at 9 a.m. The races are at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. The public is invited to attend this electrifying event.
 

SkillsUSA has more than 300,000 members nationwide and serves as a partnership between students, teachers and industry working together to ensure the United States has a skilled workforce.

To learn more about the Worlds of Possibilities Expo, please visit http://www.worldsofpossibilities.com/. For more information about the event, contact Jennifer Ponson at 850-484-2245, or by email at jponson@pensacolastate.edu.

Gulf Power Company is an investor-owned electric utility with all of its common stock owned by Atlanta-based Southern Company. Gulf Power serves more than 431,000 customers in eight counties throughout Northwest Florida. The company’s mission is to safely deliver affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible electric service to our customers while working to improve the communities we serve. Visit online at GulfPower.com or on the company’s Facebook page, “Gulf Power Company.”