CareerEdge Funders Collaborative in Sarasota, Florida created a career guide titled Where are the Jobs? in order to provide students, parents, guidance counselors or mentors with information about high demand jobs in the southwest Florida region and the educational pathways for obtaining those jobs. The intent of the guide is to provide students with quality career options, while also helping local employers increase their pipeline of skilled workers in order to foster growth and prosperity. Occupations are listed by Technical Certification, 2-year A.S. Degree and Bachelor’s degree and beyond credentials.
The majority of jobs in the future will require some education after high school, but most won’t require a four-year college degree. According to the National Skills Coalition, more than half of Florida jobs will require a technical certificate or 2-year degree. These middle-skill jobs, which require education beyond high school but not a four-year degree, make up the largest part of America’s and Florida’s labor markets. Key industries in Florida are unable to find enough sufficiently trained workers to fill these positions. Therefore, CareerEdge chose occupations for the career guide based on the Florida
Department of Economic Opportunity’s Supply/ Gap report for the Southwest Florida region, which shows jobs in highest demand and their average hourly and annual wages rounded.
Many people are surprised to see the multitude of career opportunities available with a technical or trade certification. These jobs include those in the construction trades such as Plumbers and Electricians; healthcare positions such as LPN’s and Surgical Technicians; and Transportation jobs such as Truck Drivers and Automotive Mechanics. The guide helps to demonstrate the value of these technical trainings and certifications as viable options for earning family sustaining wages.
About CareerEdge Funders Collaborative
CareerEdge strives to provide an exceptional labor force to the growing industries in the Tampa Bay to Sarasota region by leveraging community assets and creating high-performing workforce partnerships. CareerEdge was designed to work on both sides of the labor market—the supply side and the demand side—as well as among intermediary organizations, such as higher education institutions, in order to fuel the pipeline of skilled labor needed by the region’s employers.
Two of the most tangible goals are to help low-skilled/low-wage workers advance into higher-skill/higher-wage careers, while providing employers with the workers they need to accelerate growth.
