How can I use a proper punctuation in this long sentence?

Question

I'm going to work as a transcriber. So, I would like to know what punctuation should I use after or before the bold words.

Certainly, Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association is built around the foundation of first of all, education. So, we need to have an educated workforce that is ready to work in manufacturing, and really understands that manufacturing is no longer a smokestack, but it's a pretty clean job that requires some highly technical skills to be successful. And then, the second part of it is partnering with the Horizon Council and the Industrial Development Authority to fuel economic growth in the manufacturing sector in Southwest Florida.

1. Should I use any punctuation after foundation of ?
2. I think I should use a comma after first of all. Am I right?
3. I think the word education is not the end of the sentence because the speaker said: "first of all". Should I use a (full stop or comma or semi-column ) after the word education?
4. Also, I feel like the words And then is not a beginning of a new sentence because it is a continue of the sentence that have the words first of all. What punctuation should I put after the word successful? and after the words And then?

It's Ok if you write short answers to the four questions. You don't have to explain in too many details. Thank you very much for your time.

Answer 1

The formality of how it would appear in print is irrelevant. A reader will want to know how the speaker sounded.

I would use the following for the first passage:

...around the foundation of - first of all - education. So, we need to have...

This reduces the number of commas in the short span of 6 words.

You don't need additional punctuation between 'education' and 'So' to delineate a list-in-progress. If anything, you might want a paragraph break. If you did that, then you would also want one between your next two highlighted sentences. Otherwise, the rest could be left alone.

Remember, you can't have it both ways: if you are trying to make it read like it sounds then you should edit this to the ear, not the eye. These edits will give the reader the cadence of what was said aloud.

Answer 2

Certainly, Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association is built around the foundation of, first of all, education. So, we need to have an educated workforce that is ready to work in manufacturing, and really understands that manufacturing is no longer a smokestack, but it's a pretty clean job that requires some highly technical skills to be successful. And then, the second part of it is partnering with the Horizon Council and the Industrial Development Authority to fuel economic growth in the manufacturing sector in Southwest Florida.

Answer 3

If I understand the excerpt correctly, you are trying to convey the priority of Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association's values. If so, you could reword as below:

"Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association is built primarily around the foundation of education."

And:

"Second to it is fueling economic growth in the manufacturing sector in Southwest Florida, by partnering with the Horizon Council and the Industrial Development Authority."

Let me know if this helps.

Answer 4

In formal writing, you wouldn't have started the sentences above with words like "So", "And then", etc. Speaking is not formal writing. If you want your transcription to be easily understandable, it's good to break it down into reasonably short sentences, which will probably include some sentence fragments. I think you've done a great job on the sentence breaks.

For your other questions: first of all is a parenthetical comment, and needs commas on both sides of it.