South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
02
Feb, 2024

By Nikki Cabus

2000 Students Attend the Annual ‘Claim Your Future Showcase’ in Palm Beach and Broward Counties

Read Time 4 Minutes

On January 30th and 31st, almost 2000 high school students in both Palm Beach and Broward counties hosted events allowing for a day of career exploration.

An ecominic development and career readiness initiative, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, CareerSource Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach and Broward County school distrcits hosted events in their respective counties to showcase career opportunities to high school students. Companies were invited to participate as exhitors, speakers, mock interview volunteers, and more.

The “Claim Your Future Showcase,” was started by The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and and then Broward County got in on the action hopsting their own as well. Each year, the goal of the events are to inspire and showcase the many career paths available to local high school students from the School District of Palm Beach County and Broward County in hopes that the students stay in South Florida after graduation. It’s a day for businesses to shine a light on their industries and for students to take another step toward their future careers.

In Palm Beach County, almost 1200 students had the opportunity to meet with companies such as Amazon, Bank of America, Cox Science Center, Discover the Palm Beaches, ESPN West Palm, Farm Credit, Finfrock, Florida Crystals, Florida Power & Light, HCA Healthcare, HotelPlanner, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, Keiser University, Kravis Center for Performing Arts, Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, Memorial Healthcare System, Nova Southeastern University, Oxbow Carbon, , Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning & Building, Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa, Palm Beach State College, PBC STEM Ecosystem, Port of Palm Beach, Regions Bank, School District of Palm Beach County, The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, Tropical Shipping, U.S. Army, Wells Fargo and many others.

In Broward County, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, in partnership with Broward County Public Schools, hosted the 7th annual Claim Your Future Showcase. The Broward event offered workforce preparation and business exposure to nearly 1,000 students from Career and Technical Education programs awaiting them in our community.

One of those companies was LAN InfoTech, a professional information technology consulting and engineering firm specializing in cybersecurity. Glen Benjamin, LAN InfoTech’s Community Account Manager and South Florida Tech Hub Board Member attended the event as an exhibitor.

Glen is a huge advocate in the community supporting talent and workforce development efforts and STEAM events for students all acros the South Florida region. Creating a proper pipeline of talent and then ensuring they are aware of the opportunities locally are crucial to building a strong and thriving ecosystem for years to come.

The day was filled with workforce development activities, including mock interviews, an executive panel discussion, and a showcase of local businesses. The sponsors that made this possible were: Advanced Roofing, the City of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Memorial Healthcare System, Amerant Bank Arena, and Delaware North.

“Investing in our future is important. These are the future leaders of our community,” said Ft. Lauderdale City Manager, Greg Chevarria.

The panelists included:

  • Greg Chavarria | City Manager for Fort Lauderdale
  • Andrew Zullo | CEO of Leadership Broward
  • Barkha Herman, Technology CEO and non-profit founder
  • Cathy Miron | President and CEO of eSilo
  • Bryce Hollweg | COO of Florida Panthers
  • Bob Swindell | President and CEO of Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance

“Events like these have a profound impact on students, especially young women, many of whom are interested in careers in tech, but aren’t sure how to get started or who worry they don’t “fit the mold,” said Cathy Miron, CEO of eSilo and Tech Hub Board Member.

“There are plenty of local women blazing new trails across South Florida and I hope that our stories inspire the next generation of women engineers, developers, cyber analysts, and project managers,” she continued.

Students not only have the chance to meet with local employers, but they have the chance to practice networking and communication skills, apply for internships, and hear from local experts on the benefits of staying local, the business economy we have in South Florida, and some of the exciting work being done right in their backyard!

 

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25
Oct, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Team Llamaa wins Tech Hub’s “Hack for Humanity” community hackathon 2023

Read Time 4 Minutes

The 2023 Tech Hub Hackathon aimed to “Hack for Humanity” building solutions for problems faced by two of South Florida’s local nonprofits, American Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity Broward. 

A Hackathon is an overnight event where participants form teams, vet ideas, create a project, then present their work to an expert panel of judges. This year, teams were asked to solve a wide range of problems, including streamlining donations, coordinating pickups, improving data management for Habitat for Humanity Broward, and promoting American Cancer Society’s “Get Screened” campaign to individuals and corporations, with a focus on HR benefit integration and process monitoring.

This year’s first place winning team created a solution in support of Habitat for Humanity Broward – Team LLAMAA!

According to the Habitat for Humanity Broward website, Broward is one of the nation’s most cost burdened housing markets, making homeownership out of reach for 94% of families. Habitat for Humanity Broward is on a mission to change that.

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity of Broward brings people together to build homes, communities and hope. Habitat Broward offers a “hand up” not a “hand out” to empower families who are willing to work hard to improve their family’s lives through affordable home ownership.

Together, Team LLAMAA which is an acronym for the first letters of each team members name; Leon, Lia, Ashley, Maria, Ashley, Aimee, created a software solution to aid the non-profit Habitat for Humanity of Broward which aimed to streamline the potential home owner application through digitization enabling tracking in a more convenient way for the employees, hard-skill volunteers and potential home owners.

“There is nothing like being in the presence of bright minds, tirelessly and enthusiastically working to increase the reach and impact for organizations like Habitat for Humanity of Broward and American Cancer Society who are tackling community and societal challenges,” said Nathan VanDeman, Habitat for Humanity Broward’s VP of Housing Development.

“I made many new friends, saw numerous great concepts and we’re excited to work over the coming weeks with the teams and organizers to see which can be developed and put to use.”

The Hackathon was held at the CITY Furniture headquarters in Tamarac where guests had the opportunity to tour the CITY facilities, meet with leadership and the technical team, and learn about the expansive and fast-growing tech department at CITY, all while enjoy the first-ever hackathon in CITY’s history working with two of their closest nonprofit partners.

With 16 teams presenting, over 100 hackers, and over 50 volunteers, coaches, and judges, there were many innovative ideas and projects created that could support both nonprofits.

Our judges panel included Mick Feller, Sr. Principal Software Engineer @ ODP Corp, Giovanni Punzo, Founder & CEO @ Streann Media, Michelle Bakels, Program Director @ G2i, Christy Poe, former Sr. VP of IT @ Garden of Life, Nathan VanDeman, Habitat for Humanity Broward’s VP of Housing Development, and Stephanie Watts, American Cancer Society’s Senior Director, Corporate Relations.

Thank you to all our major sponsors for the event. We would not have been able to make it happen without the support of CITY Furniture, The ODP Corporation (Office Depot), Florida Power & Light (FPL), OZ Digital, Streann Media, TechStrong Group, and Adam & Joe’s.

We also had the support of student sponsors this year from Cox Science center & Aquarium, CareerSource Palm Beach County, FAU’s College of Engineering & Computer Science, and the Tech Hub Foundation.

 

The top three projects chosen by our esteemed panel of judges were as follows:

1ST PLACE, $2,500 PRIZE: TEAM LLAMAA

  • Nonprofit: Habitat for Humanity Broward
  • Solution: On-boarding platform to support administrators in managing housing applications and their progress
  • Team Members: Ashley N Dennis, Asiangel Moua, Leon Kipkoech, Aimee Gonzalez-Cameron, Maria Bruno, Ashley Clayden Moss
  • See Presentation
  • See Github

2ND PLACE, $1,500 PRIZE: PIXEL POETS

  • Nonprofit: American Cancer Society
  • Solution: Custom Campaign Portal for “Get Screened” Campaign
  • Team Members: Shashank Mishra, Prakash Raghothamachar, Jasmine Kloub, Ryan Young
  • See Presentation
  • See Github

3RD PLACE, $1,000 PRIZE: ASK ME LATER

  • Nonprofit: Habitat for Humanity Broward
  • Solution: Donation quality inspection and intake process optimization
  • Team Members: Pinak Upadhyay, Angel Diaz, Daniel Muthama, Rabea Abdelwahab, Alexander Aranda, Adrian Perdomo
  • See Presentation
  • See Github

Click here to view ALL TEAM PROJECTS and here for PHOTOS FROM EVENT. 📸

 

Stay tuned for updates on project implementations. . .

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21
Jun, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

In partnership with the BDB, CareerSource Palm Beach County is named Workforce Employer of the Year 2023

Read Time 4 Minutes

The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) recently announced that CareerSource Palm Beach County has been named the 2023 Workforce Employer of the Year. 

NAWDP provides education, resources, and certification credibility to individuals seeking to thrive as thought leaders and innovators in the workforce development industry. As the leading advocate for workforce development professionals, NAWDP builds relationships and connections with other industry-leading organizations to challenge and collaborate for the advancement of the industry. The NAWDP is the heartbeat of workforce development.

“The Workforce Employer of the Year award recognizes a private-sector employer or employer consortium who partners and collaborates with their local workforce partners to create a positive impact in their local area,” said Melissa Robbins, NAWDP’s Chief Executive Officer. “CareerSource Palm Beach County has developed a lucrative partnership with the Palm Beach County Business Development Board that has increased the opportunities for jobseekers and businesses in the community.”

CareerSource Palm Beach County is the nonprofit organization chartered by the state to lead workforce development in Palm Beach County. During the past five program years, CareerSource Palm Beach County assisted nearly 45,000 residents find employment/reemployment ranging from entry-level to executive suite, with salaries from these jobs creating $700 million in annual wages. CareerSource also awarded $14.7 million in grants to area businesses and employees for job training and educational assistance during that time.

The two organizations work in partnership using comprehensive labor market information/analysis, job candidate sourcing, training grants, and placement support to attract, retain, and help businesses expand.

CareerSource Palm Beach County and the Business Development Board have convened/facilitated various collaborative programs in the Glades communities, including providing $1.7 million in grants to local employers and residents for training and educational assistance over the past 5 years. This, along with comprehensive job placement, hiring, and recruiting services provided by CareerSource Palm Beach County’s Belle Glade career center, has helped to significantly reduce area unemployment.

One effort of the partnership includes the recruitment of FinFrock, a major precast concrete manufacturer, to Belle Glade. This project will create more than 200 jobs with salaries starting at $19/hour with fully paid medical benefits. It is projected to bring a $242 million economic impact to the Glades communities.

The partnership has been fruitful with new industry data showing Palm Beach County as home to 463 corporate, subsidiary and regional offices, 2,897 financial services and hedge funds, 1,628 aviation/aerospace/engineering companies, 2,189 infotech companies, 5,496 healthcare companies, 682 distribution and logistics centers, and 1,424 manufacturing companies.

“We are incredibly pleased and proud that our achievements arising from our partnership with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County have been nationally recognized with this award,” said Julia Dattolo, President and CEO of CareerSource Palm Beach County. “Our partnership has created a much more diversified, high-quality employer base, making our economy more resilient – and contributing to record low unemployment rates for more than a year.”

This is the second national award CareerSource Palm Beach County has recently received. The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) presented their national Trailblazer Award to CareerSource PBC in 2021. The award recognizes a workforce board that has been a leader in developing comprehensive workforce solutions for its communities.

In addition to today’s award, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County received nearly 10 national, state and local awards since 2022. The BDB also is one of only 66 in the world to be an Accredited Economic Development Board and has been internationally recognized in the past for marketing strategies and programs.

The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County is the official public/private economic development organization for Palm Beach County.  Founded in 1982 as a not-for-profit corporation, our primary purpose is to attract and retain new industry, business investment, high quality jobs and workforce development through corporate relocations, expansions and international trade. During the past five years, the BDB has assisted companies that have created more than 12,822 direct jobs with average salaries greater than $69,062, resulting in more than $777 million in capital investment to Palm Beach County and an economic impact that exceeds $6.87 billion.

“CareerSource Palm Beach County has been an impactful partner of the Business Development Board’s economic development efforts and it’s an honor to receive this prestigious award together. This partnership will continue to stimulate economic energy and enrich the vitality of Palm Beach County as more corporate citizens relocate to and expand in the Palm Beaches,” said Kelly Smallridge, President and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB).

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31
May, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

CareerSource Palm Beach County is offering up to $12K in career training for veterans and spouses

Read Time 3 Minutes

Announced last week and just in time for Memorial Day, CareerSource Palm Beach County is now offering up to $12,000 for occupational training to eligible veterans and military spouses seeking employment through their Careers for Veterans Grant program.

The program pays for licenses, degrees and certification to help veterans and their spouses gain credentials for many in-demand careers. More than 400 credentials are available. The program also provides supportive services to cover the cost of books, licensing fees, and even childcare.

CareerSource Palm Beach County is the non-profit organization chartered by the state to lead workforce development in Palm Beach County. During the past five program years, CareerSource assisted nearly 45,000 residents find employment ranging from entry level to executive suite, with salaries from these jobs creating $700 million in annual wages.  CareerSource also awarded $14.7 million in grants to area businesses and employees for job training and educational assistance during that time.

“Memorial Day honors those generations of men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our country,” said Julia Dattolo, President and CEO of CareerSource Palm Beach County and a U.S. Navy veteran. “We are honored to provide Careers for Veterans Grants to assist eligible veterans and their spouses who are seeking training that leads to gainful employment.”

“Many area employers actively seek to hire veterans because of the knowledge, skills, and attributes they have acquired in a variety of specialized fields during their service. We offer career services that assist returning veterans find new employment and transition into civilian careers,” Ms. Dattolo added.

Florida has the third largest population of veterans in the nation with more than 1.5 million veterans. Of those, nearly 77,000 are located in Palm Beach County.

Veterans who are residents of Palm Beach County are encouraged to contact CareerSource about the special employment assistance available to them at the career centers or at www.careersourcepbc.com.

These services include:

  • Classes and facilities for job search
  • Career development/consulting/placement services
  • Talent identifiers and assessments
  • Referrals to educational and vocational training programs
  • Access to computers, fax machines, phones and copiers for job searches
  • Veterans on staff who know how to effectively connect military experience and skills with prospective civilian employers

In a recent WPBF 25 interview, Cody Melton, the Director of Operations for CareerSource Palm Beach County and United States Air Force Veteran, stated that “They’re going to receive funding to help pay for training, training in, say, HVAC or IT or nursing. There’s a variety of fields that are in demand.”

In addition to the $12,000 in occupational training for eligible vets and spouses seeking employment, participants can receive up to $3000 to assist them with support services such as covering childcare or paying for travel expenses such as gas.

Once an application is submitted, a CareerSource Palm each County Veterans Services staff member will receive the results to determine eligibility and suitability, and contact applicants with the determination and information.

Applying for the program is easy. APPLY HERE.

 

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2000 Students Attend the Annual ‘Claim Your Future Showcase’ in Palm Beach and Broward Counties
Team Llamaa wins Tech Hub’s “Hack for Humanity” community hackathon 2023
In partnership with the BDB, CareerSource Palm Beach County is named Workforce Employer of the Year 2023
CareerSource Palm Beach County is offering up to $12K in career training for veterans and spouses