Educational and Workforce Outcomes Report

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Report Information
This report is the result of a collaborative effort between the Regional Economic Research Insititute and the FutureMakers Coalition. The report provides up-to-date information on demographic, education and workforce indicators for the five-county region.

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About FutureMakers:

FutureMakers is a collective impact initiative working along the cradle-to-career pathway to create a skilled and sustainable workforce pipeline. The pathway begins with early childhood learning and ends with post-high school credential attainment and career connections. The coalition focuses on systems change to connect untapped workforce with the education and training to fill in-demand jobs by removing attainment barriers and creating a culture of career exploration and aspiration from an early age.

FutureMakers Coalition aims to transform Southwest Florida’s workforce by increasing the proportion of working-age adults with college degrees, workforce certificates, industry certifications and other high-quality credentials to 55 percent by 2025.

About Workforce Now:

Workforce Now was an original regional research initiative resulting from a collaboration between the three regional universities (Florida SouthWestern State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Hodges University) to identify current and future talent requirements for the five counties of Southwest Florida. Founded in October 2012, the initiative was created as an outcome of discussions following the Education Summits produced by The News-Press Group. It was envisioned as a systematic, strategic multi-year focus on understanding and meeting critical workforce needs.

The initiative involved discussions with major employers and industries within the region to better understand their critical employment gaps and help identify skill sets needed for those positions. The plan was to provide a continuous stream of labor force information to employers and educational institutions and to look for ways to create dialogue and new partnerships between businesses and educational institutions. The quality of the regional workforce is a primary competitive factor in the region’s ability to grow and prosper in a global marketplace. Workforce Now was discontinued after the 2023 report.