Program Pours $10 Million into the Hands of Florida Veterans, and Back into State’s Economy

Tallahassee, FL — March 26, 2018 — Veterans Florida, the leading non-profit corporation dedicated to helping veterans transition to civilian life in the Sunshine State, today announced it has awarded over $1 million in grant funds to Florida businesses to help hire and train veterans. The Veterans Florida Workforce Training Grants provide funding to Florida businesses in high-growth, high-wage industries, enabling those businesses to hire veterans for permanent, full-time jobs requiring customized high-level skills training.

“We’ve partnered with dozens of businesses across the state to hire nearly 300 veterans to date,” says Bobby Carbonell, Executive Director of Veterans Florida. “Collectively, our veterans have earned nearly $10 million in salaries that are poured right back into Florida’s economy. That’s a return on investment for the state of $10 back into the economy for every $1 granted to employers. Our grants help connect skilled workers with impactful career opportunities — and position Florida as one of the most veteran-friendly states in the country.”

The state-funded grant program provides funding to qualifying businesses to train new, full-time employees. Funding is provided in the form of a reimbursable grant, covering 50% of the training cost for every new veteran hired and trained, up to $8,000 per new employee. Veterans Florida also provides employers with additional resources to source new employees, as all businesses participating in the Workforce Training Grant program have the opportunity to list job openings on the Veterans Florida careers website and benefit from recruitment and hiring services.

“We used our Workforce Training Grant from Veterans Florida to hire two new employees this past year,” says Steve Williams, President of Educational Investor Services. “The grant money was an important resource for our company. We work in a highly technical field, which requires a lot of travel and training when we bring on new employees. Veterans Florida’s Workforce Training Grant relieved a lot of the financial burden associated with that training and brought two new fantastic members to our team. As we grow our company in the future, we’ll look to use more resources from Veterans Florida.”

In addition to the Workforce Training Grant, Veterans Florida operates a Career Services Program to connect veterans with employers across the state, and an Entrepreneurship Program to provide tuition-free online and on-campus instruction to veterans interested in building their own business in Florida. Additional services provided by Veterans Florida include resume and interview preparation and relocation services.

About Veterans Florida

Established in 2014, Veterans Florida was created by the State of Florida to help veterans fully transition to life in the Sunshine State. Veterans Florida connects veterans to employers, educational opportunities, and professional development resources, and provides employers with grant funds to hire and train veterans. To date, Veterans Florida has connected nearly 300 veterans with jobs across the state and has provided over 15,000 hours of educational instruction, mentoring and consulting services for veterans.