About 15 years ago, Jacksonville native James Coleman attended a CareerSource Northeast Florida (CareerSource NEFL) Employer Workshop and became a graduate of the program – training which led to the founding of Workforce Industrial Training LLC (WIT).
CareerSource NEFL first featured Coleman in this newsletter in 2021, when he had received a $300,000 grant through the City of Jacksonville that engaged WIT and the Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) to provide free training as part of the city’s strategy to crack down on crime – with the program targeting people released from jail, homeless veterans and those living in the city’s low-income areas.
Today, Coleman’s still helping hundreds of local residents, especially youth living in the city’s most economically-challenged areas, receive the training necessary to receive credentials and find good-paying jobs in Northeast Florida – but with a much broader training umbrella.
The WIT training center moved about two years ago from Dahlia Road just off Edgewood Avenue to Soutel Drive in northwest Jacksonville, taking a former Winn Dixie store and nearly doubling in size to a 45,000-square-foot facility – and it’s training capacity has expanded significantly, as well.
“Our major addition has been a focus on construction trades, which was helped along through a partnership with the City of Jacksonville’s JSEBs (Jacksonville Small and Emerging Businesses) program,” Coleman said. “We provide training for at-risk entrepreneurs and Jacksonville JSEBs that lack the capacity or skills to meet contract requirements, and we partner our students with JSEBs building contractors, which allows them to learn in real time.”
WIT’s demand-driven curriculum fits today’s needs in the construction industry: with training provided for flooring, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and low-voltage work. With many experienced workers aging out of these trade industries, and accessible training programs becoming scarce, WIT is responding to a real demand for workers in these fields.
Coleman says WIT’s construction program is designed so students will discover their passion first, then build the corresponding skill set. Each are exposed to multiple project elements, whether its flooring, baseboards, drywall or another trade skill, so they can identify what they enjoy before employer placement.
“If you look at totality of the program, we have 90 percent enrollment, 85 percent completion and 75 percent six-month employment among those who engage with WIT… with graduates earning above living wages, ” Coleman said. “Last year, we provided training to nearly 400 people.”
WIT recently received a grant as part of a collaborative effort to strengthen neighborhoods impacted by the violence near Edward Waters College three years ago, with funds distributed to several organizations including WIT – which is providing niche training modules that lead directly to employment.
“Our program works, and it also shows that a modest investment in a local organization yields millions of dollars added back into Jacksonville’s economy while addressing a significant community need,” Coleman said.
WIT has also remained focused on providing training for underserved and at-risk community members, including returning citizens, individuals aging out of foster care, homeless veterans, and the underemployed who cannot afford traditional training.
Coleman says partnerships with the city and community stakeholders, including CareerSource NEFL, enable WIT to connect and offer training for these groups…especially young people.
“Whether it’s the city, the state or other organizations like CareerSource Northeast Florida, these partnerships work well because they bridge opportunities between organizations in many cases,” he said.
Coleman was raised in the Durkeeville area of Jacksonville, is a former U.S. Army Paratrooper and Nuclear Chemical and Biological Specialist. After leaving the military, he returned to Jacksonville – becoming the first African American program director at the Commercial Diving Academy (CDA). It was there while providing training as an instructor for a welding program that he came up with the idea to build a training concept for the Durkeeville area.
“Ideally, I wanted to find a way to create a program specifically for a community in need,” he said. “That led me to find the additional resources and knowledge to take that next step, which is when the great connection with CareerSource Northeast Florida came into play.”
When Coleman started providing training, initially working with young people, CareerSource NEFL started referring youth living in affected areas for training.
From there, Coleman began applying for grants to continue providing these training services – with CareerSource NEFL assisted him along the way. Coleman became an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Authorized Trainer, a Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Disaster Site and Safety Trainer, a National Center for Construction Education and Research Construction Site Safety Master and developed his first WIT-ISTP ((Industrial Safety Training Program) student training manual. Coleman also became the workforce training director for the Clara White Mission, which gave him additional platforms to offer new programs.
Coleman’s positivity remains unchanged. He shared that WIT was recently honored with the 2026 National Returning Citizens Conference (NRCC) Workforce Award. The award recognizes businesses that have demonstrated leadership, dedication, supporting communities through workforce initiatives and their contributions to returning citizens and system-impacted people at the regional level.
“What I’ve learned when you find something that you love to do, it isn’t work, and I still enjoy what I do,” he said. “I get to work so closely with so many people…on the industry side from big companies to mom-and-pop stores, from council members to the mayor’s office and with state representatives. I’ve met many great supporters and new friends along the way.”
And he’s proud of WIT’s accomplishments so far. “We technically have a waiting list now, so the funding that comes in allows us to continue doing what we’ve been doing,” Coleman said. “You could say we’re the diamond in the rough, but we’re making a positive impact in Jacksonville. When you equate into what our training means in terms of economic development and growth, we’re talking about millions of dollars being added back to Jacksonville’s economy by sacrificing a few thousand dollars here to help a small organization. It’s a great return on investment, and we can see the benefit in what we’re doing.”