Narrative: II. c.

(c) State Strategy.  The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the State's strategies to achieve its strategic vision and goals. These strategies must take into account the State’s economic, workforce, and workforce development, education and training activities and analysis provided in Section (a) above. 

Include discussion of specific strategies to address the needs of populations provided in Section (a).

(1) Describe the strategies the State will implement, including industry or sector partnerships related to in-demand industry sectors and occupations and career pathways, as required by WIOA section 101(d)(3)(B), (D). “Career pathway” is defined at WIOA section 3(7) and includes registered apprenticeship.  “In-demand industry sector or occupation” is defined at WIOA section 3(23). 

(2) Describe the strategies the State will use to align the core programs, any Combined State Plan partner programs included in this Plan, required and optional one-stop partner programs, and any other resources available to the State to achieve fully integrated customer services consistent with the strategic vision and goals described above. Also describe strategies to strengthen workforce development activities in regard to weaknesses identified in regard to weaknesses identified in section II(a)(2).

Strategies to Align Core and Combined Partner Programs

The REACH Act
The REACH Act was unanimously approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law in 2021. The REACH Act addresses the evolving needs of Florida’s economy by increasing the level of collaboration and cooperation among state businesses and education communities while improving training within and access to a more integrated workforce and education system. The REACH Act establishes a comprehensive blueprint for the state’s talent development ecosystem. It demands customer-focused improvements to reimagine and modernize complementary, but often siloed, systems for education, workforce development, and public assistance directly affecting the state’s talent pipeline through both policy and performance.

The REACH Act establishes the REACH Office within the Executive Office of the Governor to facilitate coordination and alignment of entities that contribute to the state’s talent pipeline system through education, training, and support services. Among the state workforce development entities and agencies recognized in the REACH Act are:CareerSource Florida, local workforce development boards, one-stop career centers, FloridaCommerce, Florida Department of Education, and Florida Department of Children and Families.

In the case of the state workforce system – the CareerSource Florida network – the REACH Act directs:

• A reduction in the current number of LWDBs to:

1. Eliminate multiple layers of administrative entities to improve coordination of the workforce development system.
2. Establish consistent eligibility standards across the state to improve the accountability of workforce-related programs.
3. Provide greater flexibility in allocating resources to maximize the funds directed to training and business services.

Strategies described in this section align the WIOA core and combined programs to fully integrate customer services consistent with the strategic vision and goals of WIOA and the REACH Act. These strategies and initiatives strengthen workforce development activities and address weaknesses identified in section II(a)(2).

Collaborative work currently underway includes:

• Coordination by the REACH Office with the Department of Education, Florida Commerce, and CareerSource Florida to:
  • Expand apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and other work-based learning models.
  • Streamline efforts to recruit and onboard new apprentices, pre-apprentices, students, and employers interested in work-based learning opportunities, including, but not limited to, conducting outreach with business leaders, local governments, and education providers.
  • Ensure eligible apprenticeship sponsors include educational institutions, local workforce development boards, community, or faith-based organizations and associations.

• Creation of an education and industry consortium of representatives from educational entities and businesses in the designated service delivery area for each local workforce development board.
  • Consortium members are appointed by the local workforce development board chair.
  • Each local consortium provides quarterly reports on educational programs and industry needs. Local workforce development boards consider these reports to determine the most effective ways to grow, retain, and attract talent to the service delivery area.

• Submission of recommendations by the Florida Talent Development Council on best practices for collaboration among school boards, local workforce development boards, and local businesses and business groups to facilitate work-based learning opportunities for middle and high school students. The council, administered by FloridaCommerce, provided a report on workforce-based learning opportunities to the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2023.

State Implementation Team
A State Plan Implementation Team, including professional team members from all core and combined programs and the Reimagining Education and Career Help (REACH) Office at the Executive Office of the Governor, meet monthly to discuss each core and combined program’s critical issues, challenges, and accomplishments  related to implementation of the state workforce development plan and performance goals. This includes discussion of program structures, purpose, customer base, and contributions that could improve the statewide system. The State Plan Implementation Team uses the WIOA Combined Plan as an ongoing opportunity to review and update coordination with state plan programs.

Policy Development
CareerSource Florida is the Governor’s designated organization responsible for workforce policy and investment. CareerSource Florida and FloridaCommerce work together to equip local workforce development boards with policy guidance and WIOA local planning instructions. CareerSource Florida, FloridaCommerce, WIOA core partners, the Governor, or Legislature may originate issues and needs for evaluation. Changes in federal or state law, regulations, or rules may require development of or updates to strategic or administrative policies or workforce guidance.

The Policy Development Framework adopted by the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors in 2021 guides the development of CareerSource Florida network strategic and administrative policies that impact local workforce development boards and stakeholders. Additional staff, board members, core or required partners, representatives from local workforce development boards (LWDBs), and other subject matter experts may assist in various stages of policy development and efforts to align policies with program development and implementation.

CareerSource Florida Strategic Policies can be viewed on the CareerSource Florida website. CareerSource Florida Administrative Policies can be viewed on FloridaCommerce’s website.

Cross-Agency Leadership Group
A cross-agency leadership group meets weekly to focus on implementation of the REACH Act. This workgroup consists of agency leaders from the Governor’s REACH Office, Florida Department of Education’s (FDOE) Career and Adult Education and State University System divisions, Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), CareerSource Florida, and FloridaCommerce. This group identifies challenges and opportunities to eliminate barriers to collaboration, leverages resources across agencies, and reviews and reports on current implementation efforts.

WIOA Partners
Regular interagency meetings of the WIOA Core and Combined Partner programs address aspects of plan implementation. These meetings include leadership and subject matter experts from the FDOE's Divisions of Career and Adult Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Blind Services; the Florida College System; FloridaCommerce; and CareerSource Florida. This group revisits state plan strategies and obtains data-driven information about program performance. A workgroup of subject matter experts from the core and combined partners is formed to address the federal Information Collection Request (ICR) requirements for the State Plan and creates instructions for local plans. This workgroup identifies opportunities to continuously improve the quality of the statewide workforce development plan and the process for managing the plan.

WIOA Local Plans
As required by WIOA, LWDBs submit local plans to the state in partnership with the chief local elected official. CareerSource Florida and FloridaCommerce solicit input from FDOE’s Division of Career and Adult Education (DCAE), Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and Division of Blind Services (FDBS) to develop requirements governing the submission of local plans. As required by the REACH act, FloridaCommerce distributes local planning instructions codified the state’s policy governing the submission of local plans through an administrative rule. These instructions provide direction for creating local plans, which serve as four-year and two-year action plans to develop, align, and integrate service delivery strategies and support the state’s vision and operational goals.

Local elected officials, LWDB board members, core program partners, and mandatory one-stop partners are integral to the planning process. Each plan addresses how the LWDB coordinates service delivery with core programs of VR, FDBS, DCAE, and combined partners including DCF’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program E&T programs, adult and community education, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), Unemployment Insurance (UI), Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG), Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG).

Under WIOA and consistent with the Uniform Guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), LWDBs, with the agreement of the chief elected official(s), are required to develop and execute Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with required partners on the operation of the one-stop delivery system in the local service delivery area. Each LWDB must include an Infrastructure Funding Agreement (IFA) in the MOU with required partners. The IFA details how infrastructure costs for the one-stop delivery system will be funded and shared locally.

LWDB Leadership Calls
FloridaCommerce facilitates a monthly call of leadership and subject matter experts representing FloridaCommerce, CareerSource Florida, Executive Directors, and/or staff of LWDBs and other partners as determined appropriate. The call serves as a forum to facilitate the identification of areas of opportunity to improve transparency and accountability; obtain input to assist with decision-making; and to provide updates on federal and state initiatives, policy changes, performance/data reporting, and budget/finance concerns.

WIOA Core and Combined Program Leadership Team
The WIOA Core and Combined Program Leadership Team is composed of WIOA Partner Program Directors and subject matter experts including staff who represent CareerSource Florida; FloridaCommerce’s Division of Workforce Services and the Bureau of One-Stop and Program Support; the REACH Office, FDOE’s Divisions of Career and Adult Education, VR, FDBS, and Florida Colleges and Universities and combined planning partners including the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, and JVSG. The WIOA Core and Combined Program Leadership Team:

• Receive and consider recommendations from the WIOA State Plan Implementation Team and provide leadership for WIOA implementation.
• Discuss issues, challenges, and opportunities of mutual concern and seek solutions.
• Provide thorough vetting of complex issues prior to submitting key information and recommendations from the WIOA State Plan Implementation Team to the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors.
• Commission workgroups to research strategies and implement action as needed.
• Arrange for resource support as needed.
• Prepare and deliver key information and recommendations for implementation, strategy development, and performance management to the Governor, agency heads, legislators, the state workforce investment board, and federal Departments of Labor and Education.

WIOA State Plan Implementation Team Membership
The WIOA State Plan Implementation Team includes Planning Directors and Program Leadership and subject matter experts for WIOA partner programs engage in coordinated projects designed to continue implementing and enhancing the workforce system within the WIOA framework.

More information about inter-agency teams and workgroups who collaborate to align strategies and implement programs is detailed in Section IV. Coordination with State Plan Programs.

Workforce System Transformation
Directed by the REACH Act, approved by the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors and affirmed by the Governor, the three-pillar Florida Workforce System Transformation Plan advances alignment and consolidation of LWDBs; requires system-wide improvements for enhanced customer consistency and better leveraging of public funds; and guides regional planning to support workforce system alignment with education and economic development and optimize opportunities for regional economic growth.

Pillar I – Alignment and Consolidation
In May 2023, the Governor affirmed the recommendation provided by the CareerSource Florida board of Directors to realign and consolidate 10 LWDAs as outlined in the Florida Workforce System Transformation Plan. These changes will affect 27 counties.

Significant local actions have been taken to ensure Florida has transitioned to 21 LWDAs and boards. This includes:

• New local governance determined and in place across impacted boards.
• Interlocal agreements, consortiums, and new organizational structures that may reflect 501(c)(3) filings to establish nonprofits or other administrative structures such as governmental entities.
• Operational transitions for all impacted boards.

Pillar II – Systemwide Improvements
The Florida Workforce System Transformation Plan provides an unprecedented opportunity to combine strategic LWDB alignment changes with statewide and state-level improvements in policy and operations.

These system-wide improvements will enhance consistency and coordination between LWDBs and state workforce partners, including CareerSource Florida, FloridaCommerce, and the FDOE. Consistency system-wide will help streamline experiences for job seekers, workers, and businesses, allowing a more agile workforce system to better adapt to changing marketplace and consumer expectations.

Significant improvements in policies, processes, technology, and tools are made and ongoing in alignment with the workforce system’s commitment to continuous improvement. These enhancements, applied operationally across Florida’s workforce development system, include, but are not limited to, standardized contracts, processes, and cost savings achieved through leveraging state buying power.

Pillar III – Regional Planning
The WIOA encourages the development of regional plans to align workforce development activities and resources with larger regional economic development areas and available resources to provide coordinated and efficient services to both job seekers and employers. The goal of regional planning is to develop, align, and integrate strategies and resources to support regional economic growth.

As part of Florida’s Workforce System Transformation Plan implementation, regional planning areas are developed to include a minimum of two contiguous LWDAs, ensuring increased collaboration and productivity.

The CareerSource Florida Board of Directors approved a strategic policy in September 2023, implementing the requirements for regional planning areas.

As of the submission of this plan, the state board has received and designated two regional planning areas:

• CareerSource Escarosa (LWDB 1), CareerSource Okaloosa Walton (LWDB 2),  CareerSource Chipola (LWDB 3), and CareerSource Gulf Coast (LWDB 4).
• CareerSource Research Coast (LWDB 20) and CareerSource Palm Beach (LWDB 21).

Beginning in PY 2024, designated Regional Planning Areas will be required to submit an addendum to their local plan outlining their regional strategies. The CareerSource Florida Board of Directors passed a Regional Planning Area Strategic Policy that requires all local workforce areas to be part of a Regional Planning Area to align workforce strategies to address the needs of shared industry sectors, employers, and significant populations of job seekers; address common labor shortages and worker skills gaps with aligned service strategies; and realize system efficiencies through reducing resource costs (monetary, time, or other).

WIOA local plans and regional planning area strategies must align with federal and state law, CareerSource Florida strategic and administrative policies and Florida’s WIOA Statewide Plan. While the state board awaits additional requests for designation, the remaining LWDAs remain designated as regional planning areas that correspond to their individual designated LWDA.

While the state board awaits additional requests for designation, the remaining LWDAs remain designated as regional planning areas that correspond to their individual designated LWDA.

More information about the Florida Workforce System Transformation Plan can be viewed on CareerSource Florida’s website.

Identifying Credentials of Value
The CareerSource Florida Board of Directors appointed an 18-member Credentials Review Committee for the state of Florida. This committee includes the Chancellors of DCAE, K-12 Education, State University System, and State College System along with agency representatives from FloridaCommerce and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, private education representatives, industry representatives, and members of urban and rural LWDBs. The Committee developed a definition for Credentials of Value ensuring that credentials are linked to occupations in demand and occupations that meet defined wage criteria. This Framework of Quality is used to evaluate all credentials offered in the state of Florida to create a Master Credentials List (MCL). The Master Credentials List (MCL), required by the REACH Act, is a comprehensive list of state-approved degree and non-degree credentials of value that prepare Floridians for in-demand occupations. It serves as a public and transparent inventory of state-approved credentials of value, directs the use of federal and state funds for workforce education and training programs that lead to approved credentials of value, and guides workforce education and training programs by informing the public of the credentials that have value in the current or future job market.

The Committee meets quarterly to review applications for credentials and approve additions to the MCL. On an annual basis, the MCL is reevaluated using current labor market data, thus ensuring that the list changes with the changing labor market and remains current. Biannually, the Committee is charged with reviewing the Framework of Quality and adjusting as needed.

The MCL is intended to direct federal and state funding toward the credentials most needed by Florida businesses. Currently, credentials on the list are eligible for WIOA funding for training; the state’s Career and Professional Education funding; state level Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Grants; and FDOE’s Open Door Grant.

Delivering Talent to Florida’s Targeted Industry Sectors
The business support and services available through the CareerSource Florida network positions Florida to respond to immediate and long-term talent needs of Florida’s targeted industry sectors. Florida delivers a seamless, externally focused talent delivery system for Florida’s targeted industry sectors. Using state, local and partner resources, the CareerSource Florida network helps to ensure that proactive talent supply and training strategies are implemented for Florida’s targeted industry sectors.

Examples of services include recruitment, hiring, training, and the development of career pathways including the use of registered apprenticeships and other work-based learning experiences to satisfy the current and future talent needs.

It is widely known that skilled talent is often the primary driver of whether companies move and/or expand. Florida’s talent pipeline is consistently ranked among the best in the nation. Florida is home to the nation’s third-largest workforce, totaling more than 10.8 million workers. The excellent skills of the Florida workforce can be credited to the collaboration between Florida’s workforce system, business and industry, and Florida’s education partners to develop responsive workforce training programs. The CareerSource Florida network and the business community work closely with state’s 12 public universities, six major medical schools, numerous private colleges and universities, and the K-12 public school system to build and implement training solutions responsive to the needs of Florida’s targeted industries.

This collaboration is important to leverage funding from all agencies to develop targeted talent pipelines. Florida works to ensure that funding from WIOA, the Governor’s Job Growth Grant Fund, the FDOE’s Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant, and others can be braided appropriately to reduce duplication and coordinate efforts across partners. 

Education and Industry Consortium
The REACH Act requires LWDB chairs to appoint Education and Industry Consortium for each local workforce area. Consortium members must represent public and private sector education providers from the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary sectors. Industry representatives must be representative of the focused sectors for the area and the largest employers in the area. Representatives must be leaders of their respective organizations.

The Consortium are required to meet quarterly and discuss the talent needs of the businesses and the related programs offered by education. Reports from the meeting are to be shared with the LWDB. This strategy ensures that industry and education leaders in all Florida communities are engaging and informing the LWDB strategies for talent development.

Business Services Alignment
To enhance effectiveness in meeting Florida’s business and industry talent needs, CareerSource Florida’s Business and Workforce Development Team combined with the Strategic Policy and Performance Team to form a unified Workforce Program Development Team. This unifies team members around board-led initiatives impacting workforce, education, economic development, and how performance indicators provide insight into strategic and operational policy effectiveness. Supported by the growth of a robust economy, thriving infrastructure and top-ranked labor force, Florida’s major industries of focus include:

• Aviation and Aerospace.
• Financial and Professional Services.
• Corporate Headquarters.
• Information Technology
• Life Sciences.
• Logistics Distribution.
• Manufacturing.

This structure helps the CareerSource Florida network expand its business intelligence of specific industries and align statewide efforts with local economic development programs and partnerships focused on key industry sectors with career opportunities for median and high-wage jobs and economic diversification.

Florida continues its Career Pathways approach by implementing a suite of strategic and administrative policies led by the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors and implementation of local policies and WIOA plans. These strategies include the implementation of policies focused on TOLs, Sector Strategies, work-based training including apprenticeships, and a Comprehensive Employment, Education and Training Policy. Career Pathways developed within targeted sectors enable individuals to secure meaningful employment within specific industries or occupational sectors with long-term opportunities for education, upskilling, and career advancement in each sector. Regional partnerships with education, training, and support services help individuals at all skill levels grow in their careers while supplying qualified workers and valuable talent to businesses in key industries.

Strengthening Sector Partnerships and Career Pathways
WIOA requires sector partnerships as a strategy under federal statute. The law defines both state-level and local-level responsibilities. Chapter 445.004(10), Florida Statutes requires state workforce development strategy to include efforts that enlist business, education, and community support for students to achieve long-term career goals. Led by CareerSource Florida, the Workforce Development System collaborates with education partners to ensure young people have the academic and occupational skills required to succeed in the workplace.

The state workforce development strategy assists employers in upgrading or updating the skills of their employees and helps workers acquire the education or training needed to secure in-demand jobs with better wages. This strategy helps attract and expand job-creating businesses offering high-paying, high-demand occupations. Sector strategies are regional, industry-focused approaches to building a skilled workforce and are an effective way to align public and private resources to address the talent needs of employers. The development of sector strategies and career pathways is a component of Florida’s WIOA Combined Plan and state workforce development strategy.

Evidence from states employing this approach shows that sector strategies improve employment opportunities for job seekers and enhance the competitiveness of industries. Effective sector strategies rely on strong sector partnerships, sometimes referred to as industry partnerships, workforce collaboratives, or regional skills alliances. These partnerships are led by businesses within a critical industry cluster collaborating with workforce development, education and training, economic development, labor, and community-based organizations.

Effective sector strategies are based on the following strategic framework:

• Built around great data.
• Founded on a shared, regional vision.
• Guided by industry.
• Lead to strategic alignment.
• Transform how services (job seekers/worker and employer) are delivered.
• Measured, improved, and sustained.

Building on the success of CareerSource Florida’s board-led Sector Strategy Strategic Policy, CareerSource Florida developed and implemented a Sector Strategies Toolkit to assist LWDBs with a range of activities to help them develop industry-driven workforce goals, action plans and policies and to enhance business and job seeker services. The Sector Strategy policy can be viewed online. The Sector Strategy toolkit can be viewed at: https://careersourceflorida.com/about-us/policies-and-initiatives/sector-strategies/.

In alignment with Sector Strategies, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) is a strategic workforce development approach aimed at addressing the skills gap and labor shortages in various industries. TPM emphasizes close collaboration between employers, educational institutions, and workforce development organizations to align training and education programs with the specific needs of employers. This approach involves building partnerships known as "employer collaboratives" where industry leaders define the competencies and skills required for in-demand jobs, ensuring that educational institutions can tailor programs accordingly. TPM encourages data-driven decision-making, tracking workforce needs in real-time, and fostering a demand-driven system that helps businesses access a skilled and responsive talent pool. Nine members of the CareerSource Florida network completed the training and received a TPM Academy Certificate of Completion.

CareerSource Florida continues its focus on sector strategies, sector partnerships, and TPM as proven methods of reinforcing talent pipelines to support regional economies. LWDBs implement a mixture of effective sector strategies including industry sector rounds, regional forums, and other industry-led approaches to better inform both workforce and education about industry’s existing and future talent needs. These efforts often lead to industry-based solutions meeting the needs of multiple businesses within a sector, versus a single solution for an individual employer.

Career Pathways
Career Pathways enable individuals to secure employment within a specific industry or occupational sector and, over time, advance to successively higher levels of education or employment in that sector. It is important to braid education, training, and support services regionally to help individuals of all skill levels and abilities to grow in a career. Career pathways provide businesses in key industries with access to trained workers and a qualified talent pipeline.

Career Pathways is an important focus of Florida’s REACH Act requiring workforce agencies to collaborate with business and industry leaders to create a state-approved list of credentials to align training with workforce demands. Job tracks in high-demand fields will be supported by a new Open Door Workforce Grant Program, which received a $35 million appropriation.

Statewide Targeted Industry Sectors

Advanced Manufacturing
Florida is home to more than 25,000 manufacturing companies, which accounts for more than $58 billion in output to the state’s economy. As one of the nation's leaders in medical manufacturing, Florida ranks No. 3 in total medical technology employment, with nearly 24,000 Florida jobs. The state is No. 7 in total revenue generated in the sector with $6.09 billion.

In September 2023, manufacturing had 422,800 jobs in Florida, an increase of 7,700 jobs over the year. All 24 LWDBs in Florida identified manufacturing as a targeted industry sector in their two-year plan.

Strategies to strengthen Sector Partnerships and Career Pathways in Manufacturing include continuous collaboration with FloridaMakes, the state’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership. CareerSource Florida holds a position as an ex-officio member of the FloridaMakes Board of Directors and participates in monthly Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Leadership Council (AMWLC) meetings, which is represented by manufacturers from each of the 13 regional manufacturing associations. Through this membership, CareerSource Florida encourages and enables close partnerships with LWDBs and regional manufacturing associations. As a result, all regional manufacturing associations partner and receive support from the network of LWDBs. Examples include supporting manufacturing job fairs, manufacturing bootcamps, and registered apprenticeship expansion.

As a result of this important collaboration and partnership, the AMWLC established a first ever statewide online registered “Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship Program” resulting in earning the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Certified Production Technician Certification. Building on the success of this apprenticeship, FloridaMakes has now added the Quality Control Technician and Production Technologist Associate apprenticeship programs. CSF also serves on the FloridaMakes Apprenticeship Committee ensuring the program’s health and stability.

LWDBs created and/or partnered with other entities to develop and expand manufacturing registered apprenticeships in local areas. CareerSource Research Coast partnered with Indian River State College, Valencia College, and Paradigm Precision to develop an Industrial Manufacturing Technician apprenticeship program. Local economic development organizations like JAX USA and CareerSource Northeast Florida partner to develop clear pathways in targeted sectors through their Earn-Up Initiative.

Trade and Logistics
Florida’s Trade and Logistics sector boasts over 61 establishments and is growing with over 700,000 employees. Over the next five years, Florida will invest approximately $3.3 billion in capital improvements to its seaports. About 26% of those funds will be allocated to berth rehabilitation and repairs, about 20% each to cruise and cargo terminals, and 9% to channel and harbor deepening. Companies like Amazon, Chewy, Fed Ex Ground, AutoZone, and Publix are all experiencing substantial growth in Florida, leading to the need for greater sector partnerships and career pathway development. Coke Florida, Anheuser-Busch, Publix, and the Association of Supply Chain Management are working with the CareerSource Florida network and partners to implement strategies and solutions to meet their growing workforce talent needs.

CareerSource Florida facilitates calls with these employers and multiple workforce development boards across regions, bringing together a single point of contact to develop a Total Talent Solution. To respond to this growing demand, Florida’s regional development boards work closely with business and education stakeholders to engage in or sponsor the development of registered apprenticeship programs in this important sector. CareerSource Research Coast sponsored a Distribution and Logistics Technician in partnership with CVS, Indian River State College, and Valencia College. CareerSource South Florida partnered with the District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College to develop a Transportation and Logistics Specialists registered apprenticeship program serving the talent needs of multiple South Florida companies.

Additional partnerships have been created with local economic development organizations like JAX USA and CareerSource Northeast Florida to develop clear career pathways in targeted sectors through their Earn-Up Initiative. An exemplary model of their Trade and Logistics Pathway can be viewed at https://earnup.org/.

Healthcare and Life Sciences Sector Strategies
New survey data from the Florida Hospital Association reveals positive trends in nurse turnover and vacancy rates across the state. Nursing vacancies and turnover rates are both down by 38%, with Florida hospitals leading the nation in reducing these rates. Despite these gains, Florida still faces a severe shortage of healthcare professionals, projected to reach a shortage of nearly 60,000 nurses by 2035.

As Florida's population continues to grow rapidly, ensuring an adequate healthcare workforce is essential. Policymakers, education institutions, and the workforce system will need to work closely with hospitals and other healthcare facilities to establish long-term solutions for the state's healthcare workforce challenges.

All of Florida's LWDBs have prioritized the healthcare sector within their WIOA strategic plans. This strategic focus involves the appointment of dedicated healthcare sector business consultants and the establishment of healthcare workforce consortiums, fostering collaboration among employers, educators, workforce boards, and community partners. CareerSource Florida collaborates closely with statewide healthcare organizations, including the Florida Center for Nursing, the Florida Hospital Association, the Florida Senior Living Association, and the Florida Health Care Association, facilitating connections between their member employers and the CareerSource Florida network resources. Moreover, CareerSource Florida actively engages with these organizations by delivering presentations at association meetings and conducting regular virtual presentations for their members.

Creating healthcare career pathways is essential for addressing workforce shortages, nurturing skill development, promoting career advancement, enhancing job satisfaction, elevating patient care quality, driving economic growth, and ensuring long-term workforce planning, an adequately scaled-up workforce, and professional development. These pathways attract and train individuals for critical healthcare roles, cultivating a skilled workforce capable of delivering exceptional patient care while fostering economic growth and meeting long-term demands.

In partnership with the nonprofit organization Dwyer Workforce Development, CareerSource Brevard County and CareerSource Palm Beach County are enabling job seekers to embark on life-transforming careers in the senior healthcare industry. This includes offering individuals the opportunity to receive no-cost training to become CNAs and providing scholarships to support career advancement to LPN, RN, and various healthcare roles, ensuring access to thriving opportunities within the healthcare job market.

Aviation/Aerospace
The resurgence of Florida’s Aerospace Industry, particularly with the Space Coast being a major vehicle assembly and launch hub, demonstrates how integral workforce development is to the success of this targeted industry. Florida has long been the world’s premier gateway to space and is uniquely positioned to support this vital industry.

The Aviation and Aerospace industry cluster had 2,777 establishments in 2022 with employment of 130,198. Employment was up 14,007 jobs (+12.1%) from 2021. Aviation and aerospace employment reached a low of 78,999 jobs in 2004 and has gained 51,199 jobs (+64.8%) since then. Florida’s aviation/aerospace industry continues to be among the state’s primary target industries for growth.

Florida’s aviation and defense has $9.5 billion in exports, with nearly 126,000+ Floridians working in Florida’s aviation and aerospace industries. Veterans play an influential role in the success of this industry where Florida is home to over 67,000 active-duty personnel, 32,000 civilian personnel, more than 10,000 annual military separatees, and nearly 1.4 million veterans.

CareerSource Florida has a long history of convening industry and education partners, and its sector strategies approach is a proven method to strengthen talent pipelines that support regional economies. These strategic partnerships offer opportunities to share relevant data and develop targeted initiatives resulting in successful traditional and online training, apprenticeships, and innovative work-based learning strategies for career pathways.

The Aerospace Consortium includes Space Florida, the aerospace economic development agency of the state of Florida; the Economic Development Commission Florida’s Space Coast, the economic development agency for Brevard County; and industry partners such as SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, Embraer, Northrup Grumman, and L3Harris. The Consortium’s long history of shaping sector-based education, training and credentialing programs is critical to Florida’s goals in this sector.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced nearly $30 million in strategic investments made in Florida to develop a sustainable pipeline of job-ready candidates in aviation, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, and IT/cybersecurity. The geographic focus for these efforts includes the state’s Eastern seaboard from Flagler to Martin counties through creation of the Florida Atlantic Workforce Alliance. Of the $30 million, the Governor’s CareerSource Florida Board of Directors approved $9 million of WIOA funding. The Alliance unites and aligns workforce development, education, economic development, and employers to collectively boost the technical workforce to meet growing industry demands in these sectors. This group of stakeholders includes three LWDBs — CareerSource Brevard, CareerSource Flagler Volusia, and CareerSource Research Coast — as well as CareerSource Florida, FDOE, FloridaCommerce, Enterprise Florida, Space Florida, and education partners including Eastern Florida State College, Daytona State College, and Indian River State College.

Information Technology (IT)
As the nation’s third-largest tech industry, more than 43,000 high-tech companies are in Florida, employing more than 313,000 Floridians. Florida ranks number four for high-tech employment in the US. Throughout Florida, multiple technology associations focus on increasing employment in this industry. LWDBs increase exposure into IT-related activities.

CareerSource Florida’s collaboration with LWDBs, partners, and other employer-led groups remains important in upskilling talent in the technology industry. Led by the REACH Office in the Executive Office of the Governor and the Credentials Review Committee, the Workforce Development System will continue identifying and increasing access to in-demand credentials of value in this industry. WIOA core and combined partners will target opportunity populations through activities such as apprenticeships and other work-based training opportunities.

The 2022 Fortinet Cybersecurity Skills Gap Global Research Report indicates that 78% of decision-makers find it challenging to locate trained or certified individuals for cybersecurity positions. In Florida, 22,000 cybersecurity jobs are unfilled, with an expected 31% growth rate in the digital security field by 2029. Florida is actively implementing strategies to address the growing demand for a digital security workforce. Registered Apprenticeships are one solution in Florida. Through an FDOE-supported Pathways for Career Opportunities Grant (PCOG) and Clark University’s USDOL H1-B Program grant entitled Tech Quest Apprenticeship, CommunityHealth IT (CommHIT) is helping address Florida’s rural and small/mid-sized business digital security workforce shortages. CommHIT's workforce development programs fall under its FDOE-registered Technology & Health Apprenticeship Program (THAP). Through THAP, CommHIT developed two entry-level digital security apprentice occupations that allow smaller businesses to shore up their digital security on a budget, while giving employees a chance to “earn while they learn.” 

CareerSource South Florida, in collaboration with The Carrie Meek Foundation, New Horizons Learning Centers, and YMCA of South Florida, launched a Women in IT 16-week Boot Camp, which prepares women for industry-recognized IT credentials. CareerSource Research Coast sponsored three registered apprenticeship programs in IT. These work-based training and apprenticeship opportunities help local employers build a larger, skilled, and adequately skilled up talent pipeline in technology.

VR is currently partnering with Brevard Achievement Center’s LaunchIT program, an instructional program designed to help individuals with disabilities acquire the skills to pursue a career in IT.

Fintech & Corporate Headquarters
Another major industry sector of focus in Florida is financial services, financial technology (or fintech), insurance, and corporate headquarters. Florida is home to the third-largest cluster of insurance and banking companies in the United States. As of 2022, there were over 188,000 business establishments in the state in this sector employing nearly 1.3 million employees with an average wage of $102,388.

Recognizable institutions in the Fintech industry that call Florida home include Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, USAA, Citigroup, Navy Federal Credit Union, Blackstone, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity, Raymond James, Paysafe, and others. Many of these firms have established large operations in Florida to take advantage of the state’s global connectivity, especially to Latin America. Degree production of this sector included 39,582 awards ranging from certificates to bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees.

To further develop the talent pipeline for this sector, Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded more than $3.6 million through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College in February 2020 to create the Northeast Florida Fintech Initiative. This initiative represents a partnership between both colleges, regional schools, nonprofits, and numerous financial services companies to provide new financial technology training and certification opportunities.

Expanding Apprenticeship Opportunities
Registered apprenticeships present a proven talent development solution for employers, ensuring their ability to secure and retain highly qualified workers, thereby enhancing their competitiveness within their respective industries. And registered apprenticeships, being responsive to industry demand, enable the creation of innovative programs that culminate in high-wage, in-demand occupations. These programs offer apprentices the unique opportunity to both learn and earn simultaneously, providing advanced skills and knowledge while forging a well-defined career pathway. Apprentices embark on well-compensated careers, commencing with an average starting salary exceeding $35,000 and culminating in an average exit salary surpassing $53,000. Across diverse industries in Florida, including aviation, aerospace, manufacturing, healthcare, and IT, there has been a notable 14% increase in the total number of active apprentices and pre-apprentices, with 5,005 new active apprentices registered.

Regionally, workforce boards actively facilitate the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs by delivering education, resources, and funding support. These local boards leverage the WIOA to offer financial backing for apprentices' related instruction, OJT, and supportive services, thus assisting apprentices in overcoming any barriers to program completion.

The state strategy is to ensure that all LWDBs utilize apprenticeships as a talent development strategy, support apprenticeships with WIOA funding, and work locally to expand apprenticeships by partnering with business and education entities. The state board revised its strategic policy governing apprenticeships and established state goals for expansion.

Apprentice Florida is a statewide education and communications initiative designed to promote and support registered apprenticeships within Florida. Registered apprenticeships are a structured form of workforce training in which individuals, known as apprentices, receive OJT and related classroom instruction while earning wages. Apprentice Florida’s website contains valuable information and resources for both employers and apprentices, including video tutorials, in-depth guides on how to build and launch an apprenticeship program, and how to reach state apprenticeship experts. The Apprentice Florida initiative also includes social media and communications to raise awareness of the benefits of apprenticeships, geared specifically over the years to help employers understand and utilize the tried-and-true model of registered apprenticeship to build their talent pipeline. The goal of Apprentice Florida is to support the growth of registered apprenticeships to meet the state's workforce needs and provide opportunities for individuals to gain valuable skills and enter rewarding career pathways.

FDBS works with DCAE to review and select appropriate apprenticeship models — with the strategic plan goal of increasing participation in apprenticeship programs by 100. The new Web Accessibility Specialist registered apprenticeship program at the Career, Technology, and Training Center is the first of its kind in the nation sponsored by an agency that serves individuals with visual impairments. The program started in October 2023 with three participants with plans to expand after initial implementation. FDBS serves as the sponsor and employer in a competency-based program that will lead to a recognized credential as a Web Accessibility Specialist.

Apprenticeship Navigator Initiative
To build capacity and improve awareness, apprenticeship navigators are located at all 24 LWDBs. The apprenticeship navigator training program provides regular training topics and a repository of accessible tools and resources within a virtual team platform that provides a forum for ongoing support. Additionally, navigators meet monthly to learn about existing registered apprenticeship programs, discuss expansion initiatives, identify process delivery improvements, and review outreach/communications mechanisms.

Apprenticeship navigators and their local boards focus on promoting the growth of registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs and expand programs across diverse industries, including healthcare, IT, advanced manufacturing, aviation, aerospace, and other emerging industries. Navigators partner with FDOE Apprenticeship Training Representatives to create new apprenticeship programs and connect employers or apprentices to existing programs.

Apprenticeship navigators assist career services teams by introducing apprenticeships to underrepresented groups and populations with prominent levels of unemployment, including youth, individuals with disabilities, children aging out of foster care, justice-involved, and other populations facing barriers to employment. Navigators also ensure that apprentices and employers receive comprehensive WIOA support, including using WIOA funding for related instruction, on-the-job learning, and supportive services for apprentices.

Workforce Policy Development

Strategic Policies
CareerSource Florida advances strategic policies that connect employers with qualified, skilled talent and Floridians with employment and career development opportunities. These strategic policies are high-level principles or directional statements that inform or clarify federal and state legislative policy or workforce system strategies. Strategic policies direct decision-making at the program level and may result in the development of administrative policies.

IWT Policy:
The Florida Legislature created the IWT program to implement the state’s Workforce Investment Act (WIA). IWT provides grant funding for training of existing (incumbent) employees of a Florida business. Florida law originally required a private-sector entity to administer the state-level grant program. While private sector grant administrators performed contracted duties satisfactorily, this law was changed to allow CareerSource Florida to administer the IWT program. This allowed for unified coordination of the IWT and Quick Response Training (QRT) programs by eliminating unnecessary administration impeding the process.

When workers lack needed training and businesses experience skill gaps, the company’s ability to compete, expand, and retain workers can be compromised. Florida’s IWT Program, funded by WIOA and administered by CareerSource Florida, addresses such needs. The IWT Program was created to provide grant funding for continuing education and training of incumbent employees at existing Florida businesses. The program will provide reimbursement grants to businesses that pay for preapproved, direct training-related costs. Currently, companies may receive a reimbursement rate up to 50% or 75%.

The REACH Act established new priority considerations including prioritizing training that leads to credentials on the state’s MCL and including non-profit hospitals as eligible grantees.

Local Area Targeted Occupations List (TOL) Process Policy:
A TOL process promotes alignment, economic growth, and efficiency among local boards within the CareerSource Florida network. This process creates flexibility in occupational targeting and incorporates immediate business and industry feedback to complement labor market information.

Impacting all 24 LWDBs, this policy promotes greater strategic business and industry involvement in resource allocation, targeting training funds for workers needing improved employment and earning opportunities, and efficiently serves employers in industry sectors lacking skilled workers. Each local board may add or delete occupations to its current TOL based on the demand of local employers. This process, and revised Local Area TOLs, do not require approval by CareerSource Florida. This Local Area TOL Process policy seeks to:

• Align with target industries or infrastructure industries’ training needs as identified by the number of trainees per local area in targeted categories.
• Increase the number of individuals in training that leads to job placement.
• Provide opportunities to obtain credentials or degrees earned because of training.
• Make readily available and transparent access to information on training (including levels of training subsidies).
• Improve business and job seeker customer satisfaction – as measured through surveys.

TOLs identify occupations targeted for growth that offer wages with incomes enabling economic self-sufficiency. Upon action by the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors, the TOL approval process was transferred to local boards for the identification and selection of occupations relevant to local areas. With occupations identified and listed for their area, local boards can direct training resources for occupations in demand to assist job seekers as well as local area workers seeking better employment and higher-earning opportunities. This policy allows TOLs to be compiled by each local board for its local area. The improved TOL process enhances collaboration between each local board and its stakeholders, resulting in a skilled workforce responsive to industry talent needs.

This policy will be reviewed with new requirements in the REACH Act including the establishment of a process developed by the Credentials Review Committee whereby credentials and programs will be assessed based on local demand needs.

Sector Strategy Policy:
This policy lays out the State of Florida’s strategic vision for effective sector strategies. LWDBs are required to include their approach to establishing, implementing, and sustaining effective sector strategies in their local workforce development plans. This policy lays out the State of Florida’s strategic vision for effective sector strategies that, as outlined in the following strategic framework are:

• Driven by high-quality data.
• Founded on a shared, regional vision.
• Directed by industry.
• Lead to strategic alignment.
• Transform how services (job seeker/worker and employer) are delivered.
• Measured, improved and sustained.

This policy applies to CareerSource Florida and all 24 LWDBs. It requires LWDBs to include their approach to establishing, implementing, and sustaining effective sector strategies in their local workforce development plans.

Rapid Response and Layoff Aversion:
The WIOA requires states to implement a statewide Rapid Response Program with activities that assist employers and job seekers adversely affected by a mass layoff, permanent closure, natural disaster, or any other disaster resulting in a mass job dislocation. The Florida Rapid Response Program focused priorities include ensuring that businesses and affected job seekers maximize services and programs provided at the local area career center.

There are 24 local Rapid Response Coordinators, one in each of the LWDBs throughout Florida. Rapid Response Coordinators work with employers to prevent or minimize the impacts of layoffs on workers, businesses, and communities by ensuring job seekers and local area businesses are educated on services and programs readily available to them during these occurrences.

Up to 25% of Florida’s WIOA dislocated worker allotment is reserved for rapid response activities. Funds are used for state level activities and distributed to LWDBs to provide direct services to local businesses. A balance is retained for emergency situations. Rapid response services are provided when there is an announcement or notification of a permanent closure regardless of the number of affected employees, a mass layoff affecting 50 or more workers, a mass job dislocation resulting from a natural or other disaster, or when a petition is filed pursuant to the Trade Act.

Program staff conduct research on any Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) and potential businesses that may be laying off employees; they also provide an analysis that includes reasons for the layoff, which may include industry trends. WARN notices are forwarded to the affected LWDBs and other required partners. Employers are screened to make certain services offered are specific to the employer’s specific situation.

Rapid Response Coordinators assist job seekers by providing various services and support that include applying for unemployment assistance, providing on-site informational sessions (when permitted), referrals to career services, focused workshops, job referrals, training opportunities, and other services.

FloridaCommerce deploys two mobile career centers during emergencies that offer services to job seekers and employers.

To ensure that local area coordinators are set up for success, the State Rapid Response team convenes monthly guided technical assistance Teams meetings to discuss challenges and promising practices, while providing peer-to-peer support. Onboarding sessions for newly employed coordinators are scheduled for orientation and training by the State Rapid Response team for three to six months after employment to ensure a clear understanding of the program.

Rapid Response Coordinators are provided a tool (EconoVue Platform) to assist with layoff aversion strategies and accelerate business engagement. The EconoVue tool empowers local staff with a comprehensive view of economic and industry-related trends in their areas and provides real-time, actionable business information for use by state and local workforce development partners. With this application, staff and local area coordinators may prioritize layoff aversion activities to identify businesses with high financial stress and inform them of resources available through FloridaCommerce and local area career centers. In response to mass layoffs, the platform allows staff to identify potential employment opportunities with other similar businesses.

For this planning period, the State Rapid Response Program will work to provide proficient and effective services to job seekers and employers by implementing the following:

Automation of the WARN Process
Automating the WARN process will afford employers autonomy and increase the number of WARNs received. By implementing this process, the Florida Rapid Response Program hopes to decrease errors, increase speed of delivery, reduce service costs, and simplify the business process of adding WARNs into the Reemployment and Emergency Assistance Coordination Team (REACT) system.

Redesign of Rapid Response page on FloridaDisaster.Biz
Implementing a redesign of this page will afford the opportunity to create a user-friendly environment and a platform of a one-stop shopping center for businesses during their times of need or natural disaster.

Collaborative efforts and discussions with CareerSource Florida and other key stakeholders
Consistently meet and engage other local, federal, and community partners to ensure a holistic approach is exercised during natural disasters and during mass job dislocations.

Rapid Response/Disaster Recovery meeting(s)
Convene meeting(s) of partners to discuss initiatives and strategies that may be used during a natural disaster and how disaster recovery dislocated worker grants can complement Rapid Response activities both with employers and job seekers.

Development of statewide policies and procedures
Rapid Response Layoff Aversion policy which reviews and discusses different strategies for engaging businesses proactively during the business cycle.

Comprehensive Employment, Education, and Training
Florida’s WIOA Combined Plan outlines strategic guidance on delivering services under WIOA, the Wagner-Peyser (WP) Act and the REACH Act. This includes developing strategies to create a seamless customer-focused career center network that integrates service delivery across all programs to make it easier for workers to access the services they need to obtain skills and employment. The REACH Act required and the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors approved a Comprehensive Employment, Education and Training Strategic Policy requiring that workforce-related programs be responsive to business and industry needs by providing recruitment, hiring, and training to satisfy Florida employers’ current and future talent needs. Local strategies should align with state board strategic guidance, local labor market data, and industry sector and local business needs. A collaborative approach including industry, education, and workforce partners should ensure the efficient use of resources.

This policy designates that LWDBs shall leverage all allowable tools and resources in their authority to:

• Assist Floridians in securing employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency and reduces the need for public assistance.
• Provide opportunities for Floridians to develop skills intended to meet the present and future needs of Florida employers.
• Ensure that workforce-related programs — including those programs operated, delivered, or enabled, in whole or in part, by a state or local entity using federal funds or state appropriations to offer incentives, funding, support, or guidance for any of the purposes below — are responsive to present and future business and industry needs.
• Prioritize evidence-based, results-driven solutions to improve outcomes of workforce programs for Floridians and Florida businesses.
• Develop collaborative partnerships that leverage multiple sources of funding to provide services to all customers seeking assistance, especially Florida’s vulnerable populations.
• Identify barriers to coordinate and align workforce-related programs and develop solutions to remove such barriers.

Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster (CLIFF)
For Floridians receiving public assistance, taking a job with higher wages may result in reduced benefits for their family. As CareerSource Florida’s mission includes helping Floridians achieve self-sufficiency through education, training, and the provision of wraparound services, career counselors must guide job seekers by supporting and sustaining their efforts to understand and address the short-term hurdles caused by changes to benefits through a structured, systematic action plan that promotes steady client engagement and growth toward longer-term economic prosperity.

CareerSource Florida and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta developed the Florida CLIFF Dashboard. This informational tool allows one-stop center staff to assist Floridians in visualizing how returning to work or upskilling to a higher-paying occupation could impact their future earnings and public benefits as their household progresses along the path to self-sufficiency. In early 2023, based on learning and feedback from a pilot conducted across roughly one-third of the state’s LWDBs, the Federal Reserve Bank developed CLIFF Snapshot to provide information to clients seeking a basic level of financial stability sufficient to engage in longer-term planning about educational and career goals.

Implementation of these tools enhances case management, career planning, and coordinated and targeted services. LWDBs are required to develop strategies to implement the CLIFF Tool Suite and place them in their WIOA four-year plans, per a strategic policy approved by the state board in June 2023. information provided by the CLIFF Suite of Tools can inform the efforts of core and combined partners to provide quality career planning services to support client progress toward self-sufficiency.

Regional Planning Areas
Pillar III of Florida’s Workforce System Transformation Plan requires regional planning to further promote workforce system alignment with education and economic development and optimize opportunities for regional growth. The CareerSource Florida Board of Directors approved a Regional Planning Areas Strategic Policy identifying regional planning areas are made up of two or more LWDAs to improve workforce system alignment within larger economic development areas to support economic mobility, growth, and prosperity.

The intended goals of establishing Regional Planning Areas across neighboring LWDAs include but are not limited to:

• Aligning workforce strategies to address the needs of shared industry sectors, employers, and significant populations of job seekers.
• Addressing common labor shortages and worker skills gaps with aligned service strategies.
• Realizing system efficiencies through reducing resource costs (monetary, time, or other).

Beyond establishing formal Regional Planning Areas as defined in the policy, LWDAs are encouraged to engage in other partnership opportunities with the broader CareerSource Florida network that achieves these goals.

Florida aims to have all LWDAs designated in a Regional Planning Area by July 2025.

Statewide Standardization of Tools and Services
The REACH Act and the Florida Workforce System Transformation Plan direct the state workforce development board to develop a plan for specific system-wide improvements for consistency, improved customer experience and efficiencies to include, but not be limited to, technology, administration, fiscal considerations, procurement/contracts, and programmatic policies. To minimize duplication and maximize efficient use of resources directed to training and business services, CareerSource Florida Board of Directors approved a Statewide Standardization of Tools and Services Strategic Policy.

Standardization of tools and resources across the CareerSource Florida network ensures the unified brand identity of Florida’s workforce system includes a cohesive and consistent customer and staff experience throughout the state. The benefits of creating a uniform experience for job seekers and businesses include but are not limited to:

• Ease of expansion of partnership relationships with partner agencies, community-based organizations, businesses, and other partners that work across multiple LWDAs.
• Structured and predictable delivery models that allow targeted performance, analysis, troubleshooting and diagnosis, and implementation of continuous improvement models.
• Improved consistency in performance and compliance monitoring.

Administrative Policies

CareerSource Florida administrative policies and operational guidance are developed by the FloridaCommerce Bureau of One Stop and Program Support in consultation with the CareerSource Florida professional team using best practices from the Policy Development Framework. Administrative policies and operational guidance include business rules, requirements, processes, and responsibilities that expand, explain, or further specify federal and state legislative policy as well as board-approved strategic policy.

Administrative policies and operational guidance are developed and revised using best practices defined in the Policy Development Framework. Administrative policies and operational guidance are binding on the workforce system and are subject to audit and monitoring by FloridaCommerce.

Administrative policies and operational guidance are reviewed by the CareerSource Florida professional team, which determines if these policies require approval by the state workforce development board. The state workforce development board is notified of all administrative policies issued.

Workforce guidance is information that explains a legislative, strategic, or administrative policy. Guidance may include best practices, supporting information, recommendations, technical assistance Letters, memoranda, communiques, desk aids, resource guides, and other resources. Workforce guidance is reviewed and issued by FloridaCommerce and may include consultation with the CareerSource Florida professional team.

Eligible Training Provider Lists (ETPL)
In 2023, CareerSource Florida updated its ETPL Requirements Administrative Policy. This policy provides guidance to LWDBs about the ETPL and related federal and state requirements, performance standards, data reporting, and procedures for determining initial and continued eligibility of training providers and programs of study. This policy specifically addresses procedures for registered apprenticeship programs and out-of-local-area and out-of-state providers to be added to the statewide ETPL.

The policy also introduces the Eligible Training Provider Portal, which is managed by FloridaCommerce and maintained in the state’s online labor exchange and case management system. The ETPL portal is the platform used to maintain ETPLs and record consumer information, including, but not limited to, cost and performance information for each approved program of study. The ETPL portal is the mechanism used by FloridaCommerce to manage the ETPL process, and by LWDBs and training providers to apply for initial eligibility and re-apply for continued eligibility. The ETPL portal supports WIOA participants in making informed choices about ETPs and programs of study and allows FloridaCommerce to disseminate state and local ETPLs to employers, training providers, workforce staff, One-Stop career center partners, and the public, including individuals with disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

Youth Eligibility
WIOA outlines a broad vision for youth that supports an integrated service delivery system and provides a framework through which states and local areas can leverage federal, state, and local resources to support eligible youth. WIOA also promotes career pathways, increased attainment of recognized credentials and post-secondary certificates or degrees for eligible youth. WIOA shifts the primary focus of Title I Youth formula programs to support the educational and career success of OSY. A minimum of 75% of WIOA Youth funds is required to be spent on OSY. This expenditure requirement applies to LWDA funds and funds reserved by the Governor.

CareerSource Florida updated its Youth Program Eligibility Administrative Policy to comply with changes to Florida Law and provide WIOA Youth Program eligibility requirements to LWDBs and Youth program service providers.

Youth Service Provider Selection
One responsibility of LWDBs is to select providers of youth workforce services through competitive grants or contracts. LWDBs have the option of directly providing some or all youth workforce services rather than awarding grants or contracts for these services. LWDBs are encouraged to award grants or contracts to youth service providers when local areas have access to experienced and effective youth service providers.

To comply with federal guidance and Florida Law, CareerSource Florida implemented a Youth Service Provider Selection Administrative Policy to provide LWDBs with the criteria for awarding grants and contracts for youth workforce services under WIOA. This policy outlines procurement requirements that govern the youth service provider selection process.

Work-Based Learning and Work-Based Training for Adults and Dislocated Workers
CareerSource Florida’s Work-Based Learning and Work-Based Training for Adults and Dislocated Workers policy was originally implemented in 2019 and updated to repeal and supersede Federal Guidance OSPS 89- Employed and IWT. The purpose of this policy is to provide LWDBs with the requirements for implementing work-based learning programs, which include work-based learning activities including OJT, customized training, IWT, registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, transitional jobs, work experience, and internships. These learning and training opportunities are critical to Florida’s goal to be No. 1 in the Nation for Workforce Education and registered apprenticeship programs.

Adult and Dislocated Worker Program Eligibility
Adult and Dislocated Worker programs provide training and employment services to eligible participants. Adult services are provided to job seekers who are at least 18 years old to help them succeed in the labor market. Dislocated worker services are provided to workers who have lost their job through no fault of their own to help them obtain quality employment in in-demand industries. To comply with federal guidance and Florida law, CareerSource Florida implemented an Adult and Dislocated Worker Program Eligibility Administrative Policy to provide the WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker program eligibility requirements to LWDBs and program service providers.

Enhancing Performance Measurement
Florida's 2021 REACH Act is a comprehensive blueprint for enhancing access, alignment, and accountability across the state's workforce development system, which spans Florida's workforce, education, and public assistance programs. With a focus on improved accountability, the law charges the Governor’s REACH Office with developing criteria for determining letter grades for LWDBs. The law charges CareerSource Florida to assign letter grades to all LWDBs and publicly release them annually.

In November 2021, the REACH Office collaborated with a stakeholder group of experts, including leaders from CareerSource Florida, FloridaCommerce, FDOE, and LWDBs, to develop the letter grading system. Letter grades are calculated based on performance outcomes collected by FloridaCommerce, DCF, and FDOE. Through this interagency collaboration, baseline letter grades were calculated for PY 2021-2022, for informational purposes only, using data and performance prior to the development of the methodology. The methodology was then finalized and the CareerSource Florida Analytics website is updated regularly to include quarterly data updates to inform program development and service delivery. The first official letter grades were released following the close of program year 2022-2023 and will be released annually by Oct. 15 as required by Florida statute.

The letter grade metrics include existing accountability measures for the federal workforce system along with new, statutorily defined measures focused on each LWDB’s impact on the long-term self-sufficiency of participants. Additional measures capturing services to Florida businesses and upskilling of participants through training are also included. In the spirit of continuous improvement, these metrics are tracked and analyzed continuously and are adjusted, as needed, to reflect evolving economic conditions and state priorities.

Expansion of IET Programs for Adult Education
In Florida, 15 of the 17 career clusters are supported by IET programs. The top five career clusters engaging IET students are Health Science, Business Management & Administration, Education & Training, Architecture & Construction, and IT.

In 2022-23, 58 out of 62 agencies offered IET programs to learners. The 2023-2024 school year saw an increase in IET programs to learners as all agencies now offer at least one IET program.

During the 2021-22 school year, 1,548 IET students participated in IET programs across Florida. The 2022-23 school year saw a 78% participation increase in IET programs with 2,765 adult learners benefiting from this educational model in 109 IET programs. Most of these programs also lead to an industry certification on the MCL.

The number of IET registered pre-apprenticeship programs has shown substantial growth, increasing from 7 to 23, a 228% surge since the 2021-22 school year. These programs cater to the following industries: Architecture & Construction; Manufacturing; Transportation, Distribution & Logistics; and IT. This expansion is a direct result of effective collaboration between adult education providers and employers.

DCAE is committed to supporting IET program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation through technical assistance and professional development opportunities. Agencies can tailor IET programs to meet current workforce demands and prepare learners for future employment needs. To demonstrate this commitment, a Program Director of IET was hired to oversee the quality and compliance of IET Programs, offer technical assistance, and research guidelines. Additionally, the Program Director’s role contributes to identifying and disseminating effective practices, aligns with progress in monitoring and evaluation, and ensures that results are utilized for program improvement.

Providing Quality Services to People with Disabilities
Recognizing the unique challenges that Floridians with disabilities may face in finding a job, the CareerSource Florida network continues leading, investing, and participating in initiatives to connect people with disabilities to employers. The Abilities Work web portal helps link employers to job seekers with disabilities. The Abilities Work help desk is administered by Vocational Rehabilitation and is a resource to support the linkage between employers and qualified job seekers with disabilities. More discussion on this portal can be found in section II(a)(2)(A) of this plan.

The FDBS requires CRPs to hire certified staff to work with individuals who are blind or visually impaired. All CRPs must go through a registration and approval process that includes a review of the vendor’s qualifications to promote quality services. Moreover, CRPs are required to be certified through either the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired or CARF® International. 

Other key employment initiatives to assist Floridians with disabilities include:

• Employment First Florida
• The Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program
• Ticket to Work
• SNAP and TANF Recipients
• Hope Florida
• Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE)

Employment First Florida
Seven of Florida’s state agencies and nonprofit organizations — CareerSource Florida, the APD, FloridaCommerce, FDOE (Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS), VR, and FDBS), the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, RESPECT of Florida, and DCF (Mental Health and Substance Abuse) — came together through an interagency cooperative agreement. This collaboration improves coordination of services that help people with disabilities obtain employment and achieve self-sufficiency.

The Employment First collaborative developed a comprehensive and coordinated statewide communications plan to improve outreach, describing services available to support employment and training for people with disabilities. This initiative responds directly to a key recommendation of the Governor’s Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities.

In the fall of 2019, a new five-year Employment First Interagency Collaborative agreement was signed by 11 state agencies and organizations including:

• The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, which is committed to advocating and promoting programs, practices, and innovative initiatives that enhance the independence, productivity, inclusion, and self-determination of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of life.
• The Florida APD, which works with local communities and private providers to support people who have developmental disabilities and their families in living, learning, and working in their communities.
• The Arc of Florida, which works with local, state, and national partners and advocates for people with intellectual disabilities, autism, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, Prader Willi syndrome and other developmental disabilities to be fully included in all aspects of their community.
• FDBS, which helps individuals who are visually impaired achieve their goals and live their lives with as much independence and self-direction as possible.
• The BEESS, whose mission is to provide students with special needs services and opportunities for personal and professional growth through collaboration of families, professionals, and communities.
• CareerSource Florida, the statewide workforce policy and investment board that engages with local businesses to learn more about and hire people with disabilities.
• FloridaCommerce, which administers state and federal programs and initiatives to help visitors, citizens, businesses, and communities achieve economic independence.
• The Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, which works to ensure the availability of efficient, cost-effective, and quality transportation services for transportation disadvantaged persons.
• DCF, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Office, which is responsible for the oversight of a statewide system of care for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of children and adults with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse disorders.
• VR, which helps people with disabilities overcome barriers to accessing, maintaining, or returning to employment.
• The Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, a statewide, professional industry association that provides advocacy, information, and networking for individuals with disabilities and the community agencies that service them.

More Information about Employment First can be obtained on the website for the Florida Development Disabilities Council at https://www.employmentfirstfl.org/ .

The Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program
The Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program recognizes businesses that are committed to providing career and financial opportunities to individuals with disabilities and to assisting organizations that support the disability community. Participating businesses demonstrate their dedication to strengthening communities and the economy by helping these Floridians with untapped talents become more independent and by partnering with other businesses, organizations, and state resources in this endeavor.

Information about the Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program can be obtained on FloridaCommerce’s website at https://floridajobs.org/unique-abilities-partner-program.

Ticket to Work
15 Florida LWDBs are designated as Employment Networks (ENs) by the Social Security Administration (SSA), enabling their participation in the federally funded Ticket to Work program. Through Ticket to Work, recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance and/or Supplemental Security Income receive priority assistance such as job search, career planning, and skill building through participating CareerSource Florida network career centers. The program is free and voluntary for participants.

These services enhance the efforts of job seekers to find and retain a job and to work toward self-sufficiency. Participating LWDBs receive funding from the SSA for workforce services provided to “ticketholders.”

In FY22-23 the VR Ticket to Work Program was reimbursed $20.6 million from the SSA. VR also collaborated with Rehabilitation Service Administration (USDOE) and five other state VR agencies to develop a new cost formula for the claim reimbursement process to align with current RSA reporting and data requirements. The SSA-approved new cost formula is now being used nationally. VR also provides additional supports under the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Program (WIPA) and the Partnership Plus Program. 

FDBS uses the VR Cost Reimbursement Program, which allows the Division to file claims with SSA for repayment of direct costs and administrative fees. Reimbursements reflect costs associated with assisting SSA beneficiaries through gainful employment at earnings above Substantial Gainful Activity level. FDBS uses the beneficiary’s ticket assignment as one factor to determine if there is a valid claim to submit for reimbursement. Florida uses the assigned tickets from the Ticket to Work program to increase returns from the cost reimbursement program. Totals reached $3,054,368 for State Fiscal Year 2022-23 and $2,716,088 for Federal Fiscal Year 2022-23. This represents the highest total in Social Security reimbursement dollars of record.

SNAP and TANF Recipients
In addition to the consumer-first workforce system that FloridaCommerce will implement in coordination with FDOE and DCF, the state’s strategy also includes implementing the following elements of the REACH Act related to TANF and SNAP recipients:

• Coordinate and facilitate an MOU between FloridaCommerce and DCF to permit SNAP and TANF clients to pre-certify for WIOA training services without having to physically visit a career center.
• FloridaCommerce and DCF will measure the performance of workforce-related programs and services for participants who receive benefits pursuant to family self-sufficiency programs under Chapter 414, Florida Statutes, and WT participants.
• FloridaCommerce will consult with LWDBs to develop annual performance reports that analyze participants’ transition from public assistance to self-sufficiency, including, but not limited to, program outcomes, cost-effectiveness, return on investment, co-enrollment in these programs, and the impact of time limits, sanctions, and other welfare reform measures.

Hope Florida
The top five barriers for Floridians experiencing a crisis in providing for their immediate needs and implementing long-term goals for prosperity and economic self-sufficiency include homelessness or imminent risk of being homeless; food shortages; pending disconnection of utilities; mental health or substance abuse; and unmet medication or medical care needs. Hope Florida is an initiative that offers a comprehensive approach to addressing poverty and promoting economic mobility. It utilizes Hope Navigators to guide Floridians on an individualized path to prosperity, economic self-sufficiency and hope by focusing on community collaboration between the private sector, faith-based community, nonprofits, and government entities including DCF and the Florida Workforce System. The goal is to break down traditional community silos, maximize support, and uncover opportunities.

Referrals to Hope Florida can come from a variety of sources including local and state workforce development stakeholders. No matter how referrals are made, Floridians are connected to Hope Navigators, who help individuals identify their unique and immediate barriers to prosperity, develop long-term goals, map out a strategic plan, and work to ensure all sectors of the community are a key part of the solution. One of the main steps in this process is establishing stable employment, which involves assistance from the CareerSource Florida network. Additionally, Hope Navigators help identify and organize opportunities for Floridians who wish to help their neighbors by partnering through and by connecting community members, including Florida seniors, with volunteer options. Individuals looking to give help can establish a CarePortal profile online to respond to unmet needs within their community and receive real-time alerts from Hope Navigators about opportunities to assist Hope Florida recipients with their unique needs.

Businesses can sign up through CareerSource Florida or CarePortal to provide information about job opportunities that consider a person’s unique needs and skills. Whether by offering flexible work hours for mothers to-be or OJT, employers can support the Hope Florida mission and workforce through tailored opportunities. Nonprofits, charitable organizations, and those in the private sector can contribute to the Hope Florida Fund to provide financial resources to deserving local non-profit organizations that support their communities.

Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE):
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an internationally recognized model of Supported Employment for people with serious mental illness. Approximately 35% of VR participants currently have a primary disability category of mental health. The focus of Florida’s ASPIRE project is on helping those with behavioral health conditions find gainful employment. Mainstream education and technical training are included as ways to advance career paths. The model emphasizes a collaborative approach between the mental health system and VR. VR counselors and employment specialists are integrated with the individual’s mental health treatment team to promote success with the individual’s employment goals.

IPS is recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as an evidence-based practice. In 2021, Florida applied for and was selected to participate in the ASPIRE initiative under USDOL. The initiative aims to assist states in aligning their policies and practices in support of CIE for people with mental health conditions. Florida has continued participation in the ASPIRE initiative in 2022-2023 and has focused on building sustainability for IPS. The initiative is expected to conclude in July 2024. CareerSource Florida participates in bi-weekly ASPIRE implementation team meetings and quarterly steering committee meetings. CareerSource Florida is currently working with ASPIRE partners to seek grant funds to expand this IPS initiative in Florida. Since 2021, Florida has expanded capacity to provide IPS at four new sites and has hired a full-time IPS State Trainer to assist new sites with implementation of the model. Outcome data from the initial expansion indicate that, as of June 2023, 50% of participants are competitively employed and/or attending a credit-bearing educational program. Participants who are employed earn a median wage of $15/hour and work an average of 32 hours per week.

(2) Strategies to Align Core Programs

The REACH Act set forth to fully realize the vision of WIOA and establishes key strategies and initiatives designed to strengthen partnerships among workforce stakeholders, increase accountability for the workforce system as a whole, and improve access to the workforce system and alignment of the system to the needs of employers. 

Strengthening Partnerships and Coordination
The REACH Act establishes a new REACH Office in the Executive Office of the Governor to coordinate the efforts of workforce stakeholders CareerSource Florida, FloridaCommerce, DOE, and DCF, and ensure collaboration and alignment of initiatives. Furthermore, the law added representation from FDBS, in addition to VR, along with representation from DCF to the state workforce development board.

The REACH Act and Florida Workforce System Transformation provide enhanced opportunities to unite core and combined partners around the strategic and additional goals described in this plan. Partners share costs, funding and grant opportunities, data and information, and training standards that promote greater communication, transparency, accountability, and coordination of services across education and workforce partners, businesses, and vendors. Increased efficiencies and accountability achieved under WIOA guidelines and combined planning foster strategies to avoid duplication of services and improve simplified access to quality customer services for businesses, job seekers, veterans, seniors, and individuals with SBE.

Increased Accountability and Transparency
The REACH Act codified into Florida law a number of programs, initiatives, and requirements to increase the accountability for workforce programs both to the state and to the consumer.

LWDB Letter Grades
Under the REACH Act, the Governor’s REACH Office developed criteria for an annual LWDB letter grading system. The metrics that comprise the letter grades include the WIOA Primary Indicators for Performance and state statutorily defined measures focused on each LWDB’s impact on the long-term self-sufficiency of participants, with a focus on the reduction in long-term public assistance and the percentage of participants whose wages were higher after program completion. Baseline letter grades were calculated for PY 2021-2022 and the first official letter grades were assigned and published for PY 2022-2023 by the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors. In the spirit of continuous improvement, the letter grade metrics are tracked and analyzed on a continuous basis and are adjusted to reflect evolving economic conditions and state priorities.

Eligible Training Provider List State Strategy
FloridaCommerce is responsible for establishing minimum criteria a training provider must achieve for completion, earnings, and employment rates of eligible participants. Once criteria are established, training providers will be required to meet at least two of the minimum criteria for subsequent eligibility. In 2023, FloridaCommerce began the process to establish administrative rules for managing the ETPL to allow for access and accountability of education providers.

The REACH Act additionally calls for education programs to utilize outcome-based funding and shift from enrollments and certificates earned to outcomes such as placements and wages.

Improved Access and Alignment
The REACH Act establishes a No Wrong Door Strategy ensuring that Floridians have access to all the assistance and resources available from the various workforce programs no matter where they enter the system – workforce, education, public assistance, etc. Additionally, the REACH Act aims to ensure that Florida’s workforce system is aligned to the needs of Florida’s businesses and economy.

Consumer-First Workforce System
The state must develop a consumer-first workforce system that improves coordination among required one-stop partners. The system must include a common intake for all customers and allow for shared case management. A feasibility study was commissioned by FloridaCommerce in Summer 2021 and the results will guide future work toward this strategy.

Labor Market Estimating Conference
The REACH Act establishes a new Labor Market Estimating Conference that develops official information with respect to real-time supply and demand in Florida’s statewide, regional, and local labor markets. All state agencies are required to not only provide the Labor Market Estimating Conference with any required data, but also utilize the information developed for any decision-making requiring labor market information.

Credentials Review Committee
Chapter 14.36(2)(a), Florida Statutes, defines “credential” as an apprenticeship certificate, industry certification, license, advanced technical certificate, college credit certificate, career certificate, applied technology diploma, associate in applied science degree, associate degree in science, Bachelor of Applied Science, and Bachelor of Science. Under the REACH Act, the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors appoints a Credentials Review Committee comprised of private and public sector leaders in business, workforce development, education, and government. The Committee is tasked with establishing a definition for “credential of value” and identifying non-degree and degree credentials of value for approval by the Florida Workforce Development Board and delivery to the State Board of Education for inclusion on a Master Credentials List (MCL) for the state of Florida. These credentials include registered apprenticeship programs; industry certifications, agricultural occupations certifications; licenses; advanced technical certificates; college credit certificates; career certificates; applied technology diplomas; associate degrees; baccalaureate degrees; and graduate degrees.

The Credentials Review Committee created a Framework of Quality that aligns with workforce accountability requirements for use of federal funds and designated a process for stakeholders including those in workforce, education, and industry to submit credentials for inclusion on the MCL. Information about the Florida Credentials Review Committee, its accomplishments and the Framework of Quality and the MCL can be found online.

Open Door Grant
The REACH Act creates a new grant to increase access to select education programs. This grant will pay up to two-thirds of the cost of a program when the student completes the program and earns the associated credential. Eligible programs must lead to credentials on the state’s MCL.

Hope Florida
DCF employs Hope Navigators throughout the state, as part of the Hope Florida initiative, to deliver client-centered prevention to help public benefit customers in establishing goals and identifying barriers toward the achievement of self-sufficiency. The Navigators assist customers in navigating the state’s network of non-profits, faith-based programs, and government programs, and refer them to applicable services. Hope Navigators team up with customers to provide an assessment that identifies goals and barriers, care coordination, and follow-up services. The model also serves public benefit customers statewide, children aging out of foster care, pregnant mothers contending with substance use disorders, parents who need assistance, and families in need of services.

Hope Florida – A Pathway to Promise is a specific initiative funded by the Governor’s WIOA Set-Aside and is intended to strengthen the coordination between DCF and Florida’s LWDBs to better assist eligible Floridians with overcoming barriers to education, training, and employment. Under the Hope Florida – A Pathway to Promise initiative, a referral process involving regional DCF offices and LWDBs will be developed and specialized services and programming will be available to help Hope Florida program participants find jobs, enroll in training and launch new career pathways that lead to self-sufficiency and economic prosperity. LWDBs will also be able to refer potential clients in need of immediate support to address barriers and challenges not related to employment, to DCF to access resources that are beyond the allowability of WIOA funding.