Power Design has doubled the size of its skilled-trades training center in St. Petersburg, adding nine steel-frame mock job sites as the company tries to get ahead of a worsening labor shortage in construction. The expanded facility, known as CAMP, now spans 47,000 square feet and offers apprentices hands-on instruction in electrical, mechanical and plumbing trades.
The grand opening of the expanded center happened this week, according to ilovetheburg.com, which described the complex as “doubled in size” with “an incredibly extensive array of training areas and subjects.” The outlet reported that the nine mock job sites are staged at various points of construction, letting trainees practice on structures that mimic real build conditions rather than just classroom theory.
That 47,000-square-foot figure marks a jump from an earlier account of the facility. In 2024, the Business Observer described Power Design's newly built CAMP as a 27,000-square-foot facility with seven training spaces and two classrooms, built as part of a $3 million investment at the company's St. Petersburg campus. Whether the discrepancy reflects a different phase of construction or a separate addition isn't specified in either account.
Training Is Mandatory for Every Trade Partner
What hasn't changed is the scale of Power Design's commitment to training. The company invests $3.5 million a year in the effort, the Business Observer's reporting noted, and requires every one of its trade partners to pass through CAMP before working on its projects. Power Design currently employs close to 2,800 workers directly and coordinates with nearly 4,000 subcontractor teams, per the same report.
Apprentices get access to the facility for the full length of their four-year training period, ilovetheburg.com reported, alongside workers enrolled in the company's broader career-development programs. That training runs through PowerU, Power Design's own federally registered apprenticeship program, which the company says on its careers site covers tuition entirely, telling prospective apprentices “you'll never have to pay for your schooling.”
Demand for those apprenticeship slots has been climbing. FOX 13 News reported that Power Design's PowerU program welcomed 27 new apprentices at a recent signing day in St. Petersburg, with the company saying it now draws two applicants for every available spot and that the program has doubled in size over four years. The station also cited federal labor projections showing demand for electricians is expected to grow 7% over the next decade.
Florida's Skilled-Worker Gap Is the Widest in the Country
Power Design's buildout lands squarely inside a labor shortage that state and industry data describe as acute. Florida has the highest demand for skilled tradespeople of any state but ranks second-to-last in worker supply, according to the Business Observer, which also reported that Florida is one of just nine states where demand for skilled labor outpaces supply.
Nationally, construction firms continue facing shortages as older workers retire and fewer younger workers enter the trades, as Tampa Bay Business & Wealth has reported. Power Design has said on its own site that CAMP is meant to help meet that industry-wide need for skilled tradespeople.
Locally, the Tampa Bay region's own growth is compounding the pressure. The area's population grew roughly 7% from 2020 to 2025, adding more than 270,000 residents, according to Engineering News-Record, which reported that housing, health care and K-12 projects are continuing to strain the existing shortage of skilled trade workers. The trade publication also quoted Skanska executive Tracy Hunt saying 94% of construction firms are struggling to fill onsite roles.
Other Projects Target the Same Problem
Power Design isn't the only one pouring money into workforce pipelines. Engineering News-Record also pointed to Skanska's $41 million, 52,000-square-foot Plant City Technical College project, designed to train 900 adults and high school students for skilled trades and technology careers, as part of a wave of regional workforce-development centers that includes the Dr. Michael A. Grego Pinellas County Leadership Institute.
Power Design's expanded CAMP campus is part of a broader regional effort to prepare workers for construction careers, alongside projects such as Skanska's Plant City Technical College.
