The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners recently passed a resolution observing September as Workforce Development Month throughout the county. Workforce Development Month was established to celebrate the significant impact workforce development programs have had in re-building our economy, building a pipeline to good, quality jobs, and supporting underserved communities. Recognizing the importance of workforce development is especially important during this time where there are millions of “missing and hidden” workers in the U.S. economy.
What are “missing and hidden” workers?
A recent study identified 4.9 million “missing and hidden” workers in the national economy. These are people who are out of the labor force for a variety of reasons but who want a job. The term “hidden worker” is not intended to suggest in any way that these workers are hiding and wish to or actively seek to remain excluded from consideration for employment. Far from it.
Instead research from Harvard shows that these people want to work and are actively seeking work. They experience distress and discouragement when their efforts to seek employment consistently fail due to hiring processes that focus on what they don’t have (such as credentials) rather than the value they can bring (such as capabilities).
Connecting job seekers with necessary skills
Luckily, there’s a place right in the Tampa Bay area dedicated to helping people develop the skills they need to take on a new career. CareerSource Pinellas is the designated local workforce development board. CareerSource Pinellas provides a wide variety of services to local job seekers and businesses. The organization especially helps these “missing and hidden” with services like:
- Professional workshops to help Pinellas County residents stay competitive in their search for employment
- Career training and scholarships funded by the federal Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA)
- Recruitment events staffed with dedicated workforce professionals who specialize in direct job placement and career transition guidance
- Free job posting and matching through the Employ Florida network
- Human resources support including labor market data, salary analysis, and wage trends
- Financial incentives for businesses hiring veterans, offering reemployment skills training, or developing apprenticeship/on-the-job training programs
“As a human resources professional in one of Florida’s fastest-growing industries, I recognize the value that the CareerSource Pinellas team brings to our county,” Scott Thomas. He’s the regional human resources manager for ProMedica Senior Care, and the board chair for CareerSource Pinellas. “Businesses cannot be successful without employees who have the right skills and credentials to meet market demands. And CareerSource Pinellas plays a key role in connecting the two. That’s why workforce development is an indispensable component of our county’s economic development strategy.”
For more information about workforce development in Pinellas County, visit here.
