New Bradenton Workforce Collaborative Launches with Knight Support
An emerging, two-county workforce collaborative will provide a wide range of education, training and support services with dual goals: helping prepare local residents for higher skilled jobs while providing businesses with the workers they need to remain competitive.
The collaborative, an intermediary between workers and potential employers, will focus on four industries – healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and technology. All provide career paths and family sustaining wages.
The collaborative announced today that it has received, among other commitments, a $1 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The grant will be used to launch the collaborative’s first strategic agenda item: responding to the growing need and opportunities for skilled healthcare workers in the Manatee Sarasota Region.
“This region’s employers and its working families face long-standing challenges – challenges that a short-term focus on the current economic crisis or another job placement program could not meet,” said Meredith Hector, Bradenton program director for Knight Foundation. “The collaborative provides a long-term, industry-specific intervention strategy that can help transform the local workforce and economy.”
According to a recent labor analysis conducted by the collaborative, healthcare and social assistance comprise the largest source of employment in Sarasota County (15%) and third-largest in Manatee County (10%). The pay growth rate, size, and average pay are expected to increase based on the analysis.
The grant will be leveraged with an additional $500,000 in funds from current and future members of the collaborative that include the following organizations: Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice; City of Bradenton Central Community Redevelopment Agency (CCRA); Bradenton Downtown Development Authority; Suncoast Workforce Board; Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; local hospitals; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. As a next step, the collaborative will be reaching out to the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a 5-year, $30 million national effort designed to foster and share similar activities in other U.S. regions.
Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice will invest $150,000 and will also oversee the fiscal operations of the collaborative. “This is a great opportunity for organizations in both counties to work together on a significant issue: creating high paying jobs,” said Mark Pritchett, vice president for community investment for Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, and co-chair of the collaborative.
“This is just the beginning,” said Sherod Halliburton, executive director of the City of Bradenton CCRA, and co-chair of the collaborative. “We are inviting investment, partnerships, and insights because there is so much to accomplish.” The CCRA, a $200,000 funder, will help bolster resource management for the collaborative. The Bradenton Downtown Development Authority also contributed $200,000.
The Community Briefing was hosted by the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce at the Holiday Inn Sarasota Bradenton Airport, 8009 15th Street East, Sarasota, Florida.
About the Manatee Sarasota Workforce Funders Collaborative
The Collaborative is dedicated to moving low-wage workers into higher-paying jobs while providing employers with the skilled employees they need. This “dual customer” approach is critical to ensuring employers have access to qualified employees, working residents earn family-sustaining wages, and the region is both economically sustainable and competitive.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
About the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice builds strong communities through leadership, partnership, and endowed philanthropy. A public charity committed to improving the quality of life in the communities it serves, it is the largest community foundation in Florida with assets of approximately $200 million. The Foundation was founded in late 1995 and has awarded $92 million in grants in the areas of arts and culture, health and human services, education, civic affairs, and the environment. The Board of the Foundation envisions a region known for endowed philanthropy, a vital nonprofit community, and the ability to address emerging issues. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.gulfcoastcf.org.
About the City of Bradenton Central Community Redevelopment Agency
The Central Community Redevelopment Agency is charged with improving the physical, social and economic conditions of the central and east neighborhoods in the City of Bradenton. A portion of taxes derived from properties in the district is used by the Central CRA board to make improvements within the district in the form of infrastructure, job creation and development, rehabilitation of homes and properties and attracting businesses to move within the district’s boundaries. The City created the Central CRA in 2001.
About The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce is a nearly 1,800-member, not-for-profit organization that exists to maximize its members’ success, the community’s competitiveness, and the area’s economic strength. Incorporated in 1920, it continues to grow at a rapid pace to serve the educational, social, governmental, and economic and leadership development needs of the greater Sarasota area and is the bridge that links businesses, organizations and residents together with innovative programs that strengthen long-term economic vitality, business success, job creation and quality of life.
