Students seeking a technical education enjoy relatively quick and affordable certification and training opportunities. Budding professionals in Greater Tampa Bay have plenty of options to focus on a particular trade that leads to well-paying jobs in sustainable and growing industries and immediate access to the workforce.
Top Ranked
39 Best Trade Schools in Florida
- No. 2 Ultimate Medical Academy (B+) — Clearwater
- No. 11 Concorde Career College (C+) — Tampa
- No. 20 ATA Career Education (C) — Spring Hill
- No. 30 Florida Career College (C-) — Tampa
- No. 32 Ultimate Medical Academy — Online in Tampa
- No. 39 National Personal Training Institute — Tampa
— Niche 2022
Ultimate Medical Academy
This nonprofit health care educational institution has an online campus, based in Tampa, and a campus in Clearwater. Providing more than just a career-specific education, UMA supports students with academics, technical needs, financial aid and career preparation such as financial aid and mock interviews. Founded in 1994, UMA’s two campus locations educate roughly 10,000 students each year.
Associate Degree programs
- Online Campus
- Health Information Management
- Health Information Technology
- Health Sciences — Medical Administrative Assistant
- Health Sciences — Medical Office and Billing Specialist
- Health Sciences — Pharmacy Technician
- Health and Human Services
- Healthcare Accounting
- Healthcare Management
- Medical Billing and Coding
- Clearwater Campus
- Dental Assistant with Expanded Functions
- Medical Assistant
- Nursing Assistant
- Patient Care Technician
- Phlebotomy Technician
Concorde Career College
Concorde’s location in the Westshore District is one of 17 campuses in eight states. For 40 years, the Tampa campus has trained and educated students in in-demand medical careers. Students gain hands-on training and education based on three pillars: a student-centered approach, community-based relationships and achievement-driven career goals.
Programs
- Cardiovascular Sonography
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography
- Medical Laboratory Technician
- Neurodiagnostic Technology
- Polysomnographic Technology
- Radiologic Technology
- Dental Assistant
- Dental Hygiene
- Medical Assistant
- Medical Laboratory Technician
- Medical Office Administration/Medical Office Professional
- Pharmacy Technician
- Health Care Administration
- Surgical Technology
- Respiratory Therapy
- Physical Therapist Assistant
- Occupational Therapy Assistant
- Massage Therapy
ATA Career Education
Enroll at ATA with an interest in the health field, learn at ATA through real-world, hands-on instruction, and graduate with all the knowledge, certifications and training needed to start a successful career. The campus in Spring Hill is the only one in Florida, with three other locations in Kentucky, Ohio and Oklahoma. The institution offers day and evening classes, financial aid and graduate career services. It has served GTB for more than 10 years.
Programs
- Pre-Licensure Practical Nursing
- Online RN to BSN
- Medical Assisting
- Dental Assistant Program
- Medical Coding
- X-Ray Tech Limited Medical Radiography with Medical Assisting
- Medical Professional Medical Assisting
- Medical Professional Medical Coding
Florida Career College
Florida Career College provides training and education programs for the business and health care industries and various trades. Experienced instructors lead small class sizes and get to know their students. In addition to an education in the classroom and experience in on-campus lab facilities, students in many programs can benefit from an externship: An opportunity to practice in a potential employer’s business. The Tampa campus is one of 11 in Florida and Texas.
Programs
- Automotive Technician
- Business Office Administration
- Computer and Network Technician
- Dental Assistant
- Health Services Administration
- HVAC
- Information Technology
- Medical Assistant Technician
- Medical Front Office and Billing
- Patient Care Technician
- Pharmacy Technician
National Personal Training Institute
Have a love for health, fitness and sharing this lifestyle with others? Skilled instructors can help fitness enthusiasts turn their passion into a career in a 600-hour, four-month program at NPTI Tampa, a veteran owned and operated certification institute. In the classroom, learn about the science behind the body’s mobility and exercise physiology, among many other aspects of being a personal trainer. NPTI partners with Gold’s Gym Tampa to provide a personal trainer simulation so students can gain firsthand knowledge and experience.
Programs
- Personal Fitness Training
- Advanced Personal Fitness Training
- NPTI Continuing Education
Cooking Up Creative and Culinary Education
The Art Institute of Tampa
The Art Institute of Tampa is made for creatives — where “creative” can mean coming up with inventive recipes and flavors, designing beautiful indoor spaces, developing an exciting new video game, starting the next fashion trend and more.
A branch of the Miami International University of Art & Design, AIT offers a premiere certification curriculum in the culinary arts, introducing students to the fundamentals that make a commercial kitchen operate smoothly and profitably. The aspiring chef will be well-equipped for a myriad of roles and responsibilities in a professional kitchen.
AIT can assist with financial aid and grants and facilitate low-interest student loans to help make culinary or creative education a reality.
Programs
- Culinary
- Baking & Pastry
- Culinary Arts
- Culinary Management
- Design
- Graphic & Web Design
- Interior Design
- Graphic Design
- Media Arts
- Digital Filmmaking & Video Production
- Digital Photography
- Game Art & Design’
- Media Arts & Animation
- Fashion Marketing & Management
Cool Careers
Pinellas Technical College
Pinellas Technical College offers 40 career areas via 60 specialized programs to facilitate the expertise and education necessary for an exciting career in the technical trades. PTC works in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Economic Development Council to provide the region with a well-trained, job-ready workforce. PTC works together with more than 250 business and industry partners to tailor each of its programs for maximum relevance in a competitive and constantly evolving job market. This technical college has campuses in Clearwater and St. Petersburg.
Clearwater Campus Programs
- Full-time Programs
- NET Application Development & Programming (Software Development)
- Accounting Operations
- Automotive Service Technology
- Baking & Pastry Arts
- Barbering
- Cabinetmaking
- Child Care Center Operations
- Computer Systems and Information Technology
- Cosmetology
- Diesel Systems Technician
- Electricity
- Electronic Systems Integration & Automation-Limited Voltage Technician
- Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration — ESOL
- Interior Decorating Services
- Machining Technologies
- Marine Service Technologies
- Medical Administrative Specialist
- Network Support Services
- Practical Nursing
- Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality
- Stage Production
- Web Development
- Welding Technology
- Welding Technology — Advanced
- Apprenticeships
- Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heating
- Building Construction Technologies
- Electrician
- Electrician
- Machining
- Sprinkler Fitter
St. Petersburg Campus Programs
- Full-time Programs
- Accounting Operations
- Administrative Office Specialist
- Automotive Collision Technology Technician
- Automotive Service Technology
- Building Trades and Construction Design Technology
- Central Sterile Processing Technology
- Child Care Center Operations
- Commercial Class B Driving
- Commercial Photography Technology
- Commercial Vehicle Driving
- Computer Systems & Information Technology
- Cosmetology
- Dental Assisting
- Digital Video Technology
- Drafting
- Electricity
- Emergency Medical Technician
- Facials Specialty
- Heating Ventilation Air-Conditioning/Refrigeration 1
- Jewelry Design and Repair
- Medical Coder/Biller
- Network Support Services
- Optometric Assisting — coming soon
- Pharmacy Technician
- Plumbing
- Practical Nursing
- Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality
- Public Works
- School Age Professional Certificate
- Surgical Technology
- Television Production Technology
- Welding Technology
- Welding Technology — Advanced
- Apprenticeships
- Early Childhood Education
- Firefighting
- Industrial Machinery Maintenance
- Industrial Pipefitter
- Plumbing Technology
- Roadway Technician
By Brandon Duff and Jewell Tomazin
