FutureMakers Partner Spotlight:
Noemi Perez
Noemi Y. Perez is the President & CEO of The Immokalee Foundation, a 30-year-old, non-profit organization in Immokalee, Florida. The Foundation’s flagship program, Career Pathways, is laser- focused on education and professional development. Through this program, the Foundation offers students the tools, opportunities, and support they need to succeed at each level of their education – whether they choose a college, technical programs, or certifications that lead to in-demand careers in Southwest Florida and beyond.
Get Involved
Education Strategy Group, in partnership with the Florida Department of Education and the Credentials Review Committee managed by CareerSource Florida, is requesting input from Florida employers on credentials important to hiring decisions and promotional opportunities. The results from the employer survey, linked below, will help ensure the product resulting from this collaborative effort has been vetted by business board members throughout the CareerSource Florida network and key partners.
We ask you to please invite the businesses in your markets to take this short survey to provide input. All surveys should be completed by Wednesday, Feb. 9. The responses will help build recommendations for strengthening Florida’s workforce training to better address workforce demands. For any specific questions about the survey, please contact Kathleen Mathers from Education Strategy Group at kmathers@edstrategy.org.
Black History
Fort Myers railroad tracks reminder of days of segregation
Mrs. Marion Jackson grew up with racial divide. She looks out from the front porch of her Fort Myers home and talks of a very different city than the one she sees today.
Data
Southwest Florida’s Younger Workers: Looking Behind the Statistics
The Southwest Florida Educational and Workforce Outcomes Report 2020-2021 stated that the region’s skilled workforce reached 41.5 percent of the total working age population (ages 25-64 years) in 2019, representing a small but steady increase from 39.0 percent in 2013. This raises one question: how do the region’s younger workers ages 18-24 years compare to this statistic?
Upcoming Events
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Data & Reporting Team – Feb 8, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Register
- Persistence & Completion Team – Feb 28, 2:00 – 3:30 pm Register
- Aspiration & Preparation Team – April 20, 12:00 – 1:30 pm Register
- Access & Entry Team – April 21, 1:00 – 2:30 pm Register
- Persistence & Completion Team – Feb 28, 2:00 – 3:30 pm Register
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FutureMakers In-person Conversation About Structural Racism & Implicit Bias – Feb 18, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Register
- FutureMakers Intro to a Conversation About Structural Racism & Implicit Bias – Feb 25, 2:00 am – 4:00 pm Register
- FutureMakers Intro to a Conversation About Structural Racism & Implicit Bias – Mar 18, 2:00 am – 4:00 pm Register
- FutureMakers In-person Conversation About Structural Racism & Implicit Bias – Mar 25, 2:00 am – 4:00 pm Register
Courageous Conversations
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Navigators
Your Path Starts Here
What We Are Reading
Connecting With Students by Hearing Their Personal Stories
For college students whose childhoods included one or more major traumas—living with food insecurity or witnessing violence near home, which in the latest Student Voice survey impacted 20 percent and 15 percent of students, respectively—it’s easy to see higher education as a privileged space that doesn’t care about what they’ve endured in life. But when an invitation to share is built into campus life, students are more likely to feel honored and understood.
SWFL Music Education Center unveils career-path curriculum for neurodivergent student musicians
The Southwest Florida Music and Education Center in Naples will soon be offering neurodivergent young adults a truly unique, comprehensive music education program to help them pursue careers in the music industry.
Words of Inspiration
“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”
-Carter G. Woodson
