Tallahassee, Fla. – At the CareerSource Florida Quarterly Board Meeting today, board members received an update on hurricane response and recovery from the presidents of CareerSource Southwest Florida and CareerSource Flagler Volusia.
CareerSource Southwest Florida, serving Lee, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and Collier counties, has been administering a $6.1 million National Dislocated Worker Grant program that funds temporary humanitarian, cleanup and restoration employment for residents who lost jobs. Since the grant program’s launch in October, CareerSource Southwest Florida President and CEO Peg Elmore shared that nearly 40 eligible participants have been placed, with another 60 identified so far. CareerSource Flagler Volusia President and CEO Robin King said her team is working with four local entities that are responding in recovery efforts, and both she and Elmore expressed gratitude to several local workforce development boards in other parts of the state that sent staff and mobile units to support recovery efforts.
“Floridians are inspiring in their resilience, and on behalf of our board, I would like to share my sincere gratitude to the CareerSource Florida network for its dedication to helping our neighbors recover from this year’s devastating hurricane season,” said CareerSource Florida Board Chair Stephanie Smith. “We are committed to supporting business owners in the affected areas and helping Floridians get back to work.”
The board also heard from Amy Holloway and Chris Ward, principals at consultant EY, which is supporting the Alignment Evaluation initiative led by CareerSource Florida in collaboration with the Reimagining Education and Career Help (REACH) Office in the Executive Office of the Governor. The REACH Act charges the state with reducing the number of local workforce development boards based on population size and commuting patterns. Holloway and Ward outlined the series of holistic listening opportunities over the past three months that have included more than 650 workforce and economic development, business, community-based and education leaders. EY is synthesizing takeaways from these sessions as well as research and analysis over the past several months to bring forward recommendations for a modernized alignment of Florida’s local workforce development boards in early 2023.
In her President’s Report to the board, CareerSource Florida President and CEO Michelle Dennard noted the historic accomplishment last week of the Florida Credentials Review Committee. Appointed by the CareerSource Florida Board and staffed by the professional team, the committee approved a state definition for credentials of value, along with criteria, that will be used to determine which credentials are on the state’s Master Credentials List. The collaborative work leading to the committee’s vote included subject matter experts from the REACH Office, Florida Department of Education and Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Ultimately, this milestone will help more Floridians receive business-validated training and in-demand credentials that lead to meaningful careers and paths to prosperity.
Board members also voted to accept CareerSource Florida’s 2021-2022 Independent Auditors Report. This is the 22nd consecutive year CareerSource Florida has received a clean audit with no findings.
Presentation materials and additional information, can be found on the meeting event page. Find your nearest career center, on the career services page.
###
ABOUT CAREERSOURCE FLORIDA
CareerSource Florida, with its business-led board of directors, provides policy direction for talent development programs administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity, Florida’s 24 local workforce development boards and their 100 career centers. The CareerSource Florida State Board serves as the Governor’s principal workforce policy and investment board, working in partnership with DEO, which is responsible for the state workforce system’s fiscal and administrative affairs, and local workforce development boards that serve Florida’s businesses and career seekers. Together, the CareerSource Florida network connects employers with qualified, skilled talent and Floridians with employment and career development opportunities to achieve economic prosperity. Learn more at careersourceflorida.com.