It’s Vital to Help Every Floridian That Wants Work to Find a Job
Florida is home to a large, untapped workforce population that employers are overlooking. Did you know that in 2014, more than 700,000 people with disabilities were not in Florida’s workforce? According to the Florida Chamber Foundation’s study, Quantifying the Unemployment Rate for Workers with Disabilities in Florida, there are more than 1.13 million Floridians with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 65. By 2030, an additional six million more residents will call Florida home and two million more jobs will be needed, it is vital to help every Floridian that wants to work find a job.
An Internship Opportunity for Floridians With Disabilities
The Florida Chamber Foundation has partnered with The Able Trust to develop a program that will help match businesses with qualified individuals with disabilities to be placed in internships. Matching talented interns with businesses throughout Florida will help meet the long term goal of closing the gap on the unemployment rate of Floridians with disabilities. To help create a more diverse workforce, the Florida Chamber Foundation will work with regional chambers of commerce and Florida businesses to:
- Educate businesses on why employing people with disabilities makes good business sense through regional Internship Seminars,
- Connect businesses with resources and tools that are currently available to hire and retain persons with disabilities,
- Match interns with a business through the coordination with local disability employment resources,
- Raise awareness of the business’s willingness to diversify their workforce, and
- Supporting Florida businesses’ bottom line, by reimbursing the business for the intern’s accrued cost, up to a predetermined amount.
For more information about the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Internship Program, contact Kat Bustamante at (850) 521-1284.
Florida Chamber Foundation Internship Program Participants
- Citrus County Chamber of Commerce
- City of Crescent City
- Crystal River Main Street
- Florida Chamber of Commerce
- The Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce
- The Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce
- The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce
- JMI Resource
- Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce
- My Nature’s Delight
- Newberry Jonesville Chamber of Commerce
- Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
- RAI Investments
- Sachs Media Group
- Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce