Connecting Adults to Postsecondary Education and Good Jobs
The National League of Cities (NLC) and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) arrived in Southwest Florida recently in an effort to link adults in LaBelle to post-secondary education and training to fill in-demand jobs.
This team of FutureMakers Coalition partners are part of a peer-learning group combining its skills to design, develop and create opportunities that will help adults to upskill to earn higher wages.
LaBelle is one of four cities in the country to join the Municipal Action Cohort: Connecting Adults to Postsecondary and Workforce Success. The program will run through 2025.The NLC has contributed $74,000 in technical assistance.
“NLC’s and CAEL’s work in LaBelle is evidence of the city’s commitment to connecting their residents to good quality jobs,” said Tashfia Hasan, Senior NLC Program Specialist for Postsecondary and Workforce Success. “Two out of three jobs in Florida require some form of postsecondary training, and by working together to create pathways to and through education and training, LaBelle and its partners are making a commitment not only to incoming members of their local workforce, but to long-term generational change in this community.”
Their 2-day site visit included a tour of Collaboratory and a meeting at Florida Gulf Coast University to learn about its success working with adult learners. They visited LaBelle and surrounding areas to identify specific areas for increased workforce success.
“Workforce development has been our highest priority over the past three years,” said Keitha Daniels, Executive Director of The Hendry County Economic Development Council. “We have been working to build a foundation that provides pathways for improved economic mobility and a better quality of life for our citizens.”
The groups will work together throughout 2025 to increase opportunities for adults to connect to training programs to develop the skills needed to secure higher paying jobs and launch careers.
FutureMakers Coalition partners leading this initiative include Hendry County School District, Hendry County Economic Development Council, Goodwill SWFL, CareerSource SWFL, City of LaBelle, Heartland Education Consortium, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Southwestern State College, and LaBelle Downtown Revitalization Corporation.
“Scaling the impact we deliver, from individual adult learners and workers to systemic improvements, requires mutually beneficial collaboration with diverse stakeholders,” said Darrah Mugrauer, Director of Initiatives for CAEL. “Our work with the National League of Cities in LaBelle is a reminder of how much more we can accomplish together to improve and sustain rewarding pathways.”
FutureMakers Coalition is a regional collective impact initiative that has been designated a Talent Hub by Lumina Foundation in partnership with The Kresge Foundation to support local efforts to increase educational attainment. Formed in 2015 around existing regional collaborations, the Coalition is committed to creating a cradle-to-career pathway to ensure success for traditional students and adult learners. FutureMakers Coalition was one of Lumina Foundation’s 75 national Community Partners in Attainment and is a member of the National Talent Network. Collaboratory provides backbone/administrative support to FutureMakers Coalition.
FutureMakers Coalition encourages businesses to join and invest in sustaining this community-changing initiative by visiting https://www.futuremakerscoalition.com or emailing Tessa LeSage at tlesage@collaboratory.org.
Contact: Francesca Donlan, APR, cell: 239-464-4205, pr@francescadonlan.com
