Focus on Manatee: Connecting students with businesses is good for everyone’s future

Developing a pipeline of talent is critical to the long-term economic success of our region. Inputs and outcomes of our workforce development system present countless opportunities for partnerships to ensure businesses can recruit and retain the employees they need. Learning is a life-long pursuit with benchmarks at every age and stage for the residents of our community.

Over the past several months hundreds of business volunteers have been engaged in three Manatee Chamber-led initiatives that seek to bolster local students’ career knowledge and highlight skills that can set them up for future success. These include job shadowing, industry tours, and financial literacy programming. The Manatee Chamber’s goal is prepare our students to be the workforce of the future for our businesses.

This year, we organized three job shadow days during which students were paired with local business people to spend several hours “on the job”. Students from USF Sarasota Manatee and UnidosNow gained insight into fields like healthcare, information technology, hospitality, education, law enforcement, finance, and more. The aspiration is that by being exposed to these companies, these students will be better connected and more likely to stay in our community to start their career. Plans are underway for additional job shadow opportunities for students from State College of Florida, New College of Florida, and USFSM.

Earlier this month, the Manatee Chamber collaborated with the School District of Manatee County, Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation, and Manatee Technical College (MTC) to offer manufacturing industry tours to students from five Manatee County high schools. Through our collective efforts, 200 students participated in tours that included a mix of visits to seven companies. After the tours, students met at MTC to visit with 14 additional companies and learn more about post-secondary programs including welding, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. Featured tours stops included Durlach Industries, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Veethree Instruments, Mader Electric, Inc., Teakdecking Systems, Octex, and Flowers Baking Company. Students saw employees in action, heard first-hand about successful career paths, and connected with employers to envision what a variety of manufacturing job opportunities could mean for them.

Another Manatee Chamber workforce development program took place in October and November thanks to more than 400 business volunteers. They helped Manatee County high school seniors navigate a hands-on financial literacy program called the Big Bank Theory. Students were given a job and wage profile for a fictitious 25-year-old and, based on their assigned scenario, visited several “stations” to make decisions about their monthly living expenses. From childcare to housing, utilities to groceries, transportation to healthcare, students worked with business volunteers to find ways to balance their monthly budgets. We reached more than 2,800 students this year with The Big Bank Theory. A key goal was to stress the correlation between educational attainment and future income potential. Our hope is the memory of the activity sticks with these students as they enter the “real world” and are faced with important decisions about their future.

During this year’s Big Bank Theory program, we partnered with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections to provide a voter registration “station” during the activity, too. More than 650 students registered or pre-registered to vote. We also worked with Reach Manatee, our region’s local college access network, to offer a FAFSA (Free Application for Financial Student Aid) “station.”Students received information about the FAFSA and learned about the importance of working with their parents to fill out the FAFSA to access free federal financial aid. Many colleges and universities use the FAFSA to determine aid eligibility and scholarship opportunities. Almost 100 students completed their FAFSA ID, which is the critical first step in the process.

Through these and other workforce development initiatives, the Manatee Chamber is committed to helping our local students become a key component of our region’s talent pipeline. There is no resource more important to business growth than recruiting and retaining a stellar workforce. If you would like more information about how you can join these efforts, please connect with us.

Jacki Dezelski, President|CEO

Manatee Chamber of Commerce