2011 & 2012 Impact Analysis
The effect of CareerEdge in workers’ lives and for the Gulf Coast regional economy
CareerEdge celebrated the first anniversary of its inaugural programs in December 2011, which by then, had trained 1,475 workers in Florida’s Gulf Coast region, including an estimated 175 who were unemployed when they came to CareerEdge for help. As early as September of 2011, the agency had already exceeded 12 of the 15 goals set by the CareerEdge Board (called the Investor Committee) for 2011, most by triple digits.
It’s an impressive track record for so young an organization, but the question remains whether CareerEdge achieved the impact that inspired the original investors to put their money into a model that had never been tried in the region.
The founding investors gave their backing because of the potential of the model to work on two fronts – elevating low-wage workers into higher-wage/higher-skill jobs, and filling the skills gaps employers said would unlock new growth and speed their pace of job creation.
This Impact Analysis addresses whether CareerEdge was able to harness the concept that won such a resounding reception from economic leaders back in 2009.
