Opa-locka, Fla. — Governor Rick Scott announced Dec. 14 that more than 27,000 Florida veterans have found jobs with the help of the state’s workforce system. Governor Scott made the announcement following a meeting with military base commanders at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Opa-locka.
Governor Scott said, “Because of the efforts of Florida’s workforce partners, the commitment of our state’s employers and state and military entities dedicated to assisting veterans, nearly 27,000 families across our state have had the benefit of a new job this year. This is welcome news as we head into the holiday season.”
In January, the Hiring Florida’s Heroes program was launched to connect returning National Guardsmen and other veterans with job openings. Hiring Florida’s Heroes builds on other workforce training and career development initiatives for veterans in Florida, including the Employ Florida Vets web portal at “veterans.employflorida.com”.
The Employ Florida Vets portal connects veteran job seekers with veteran-friendly employers and contains valuable information about employment resources, veterans’ services and links to additional resources and sites to help with the transition to civilian employment. The Florida National Guard is also collaborating with Department of Economic Opportunity and Local Veterans Employment Representatives at regional workforce boards throughout the state on the Florida Guard Family Career Connection, which hosts hiring events for Guardsmen and their families.
Governor Scott said, “Florida is headed in the right direction. Since December 2010, Florida has created nearly 175,000 private sector jobs and has seen the largest drop in unemployment in the nation – and our regional workforce boards have played a big part in this success.”
This year, regional workforce boards have assisted nearly 384,000 Floridians who found jobs, including almost 46,000 Floridians reported in November to have gotten jobs.