September is National Workforce Development Month and it’s dedicated to the individuals working behind the scenes to ensure the local economy is growing, people are working and businesses are thriving.
In Florida, CareerSource Florida’s 24 boards collectively connect thousands of Floridians with career opportunities every month and assist nearly 80,000 businesses annually with talent development. From the vantage point of our five Central Florida career centers, this region’s economic outlook is great and continually leads the state in jobs growth each month.
Even with this exceptional growth, there is still a skills gap to bridge in order to meet employer needs in Central Florida. We address this challenge by working with local businesses to identify workforce demands and partnering with educational institutions to upskill career seekers so we can connect them to sustainable careers.
Just last program year, we placed nearly 2,500 individuals looking to grow their skills in training programs. More than 1,500 individuals who completed training not only elevated their skills, gained industry certifications but they also landed careers in high-growth industries such as healthcare, hospitality, advanced manufacturing, trade and logistics.
Opening career paths to individuals through talent development services like certifications and specialized training is what we enjoy doing each and every day. However, our work is even more rewarding when our victories get noticed by other workforce professionals.
Just recently during the Workforce Professional Development Summit, one of our very own Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist, Marilyn Biggs, was presented with the Workforce Professional Champion Award!
This award honors individuals on the frontline who demonstrate traits and characteristics worthy of emulation. These individuals should be recognized for sharing their expertise and transferring their knowledge in a capacity that goes far beyond the standard expectations of the job. And THAT is exactly who Marilyn is. She’s a reliable resource and subject-knowledge expert in her role as a DVOPS which she is sought out to share her knowledge, ideas and best practices. Marilyn sets a standard for others to emulate and shines as a model ambassador to all that is workforce development.
