As a non-profit organization CareerSource Tampa Bay is fully dedicated to our community. Whether you are an employer or a job seeker this organization is designed to help you. On May 11th John Flanagan, who serves as the current CEO had the opportunity to speak at an event known as “Breakfast with an Executive” where he expressed trends, accomplishments and opportunities to the public.
In January of 2019 John took the position as the CEO of CareerSource Tampa Bay and immediately changed the mission statement to, “Connecting Talent to Opportunity.” John previously worked in the corporate world and was very successful though he was lacking fulfillment and passion which is why he made the transition. In the first year as CEO, (2019) John Flanagan launched a youth summer jobs program, dubbed Summer Job Connection (SJC) which placed 560 youth into paid work experience positions with 90 Hillsborough County Employers. This was accomplished by working closely with CareerSource Tampa Bay, its Board of Directors, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, Hillsborough County Schools, and Hillsborough Community College.
While many additional improvements were made then came COVID. For many in the workforce this was a terrifying time. The SJC program pivoted to a virtual career exploration model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that service 496 youth ranging between the ages of 16-24 years old. The youth couldn’t have been forgotten during these trying times. The program will be targeting 1,500 youth in 2021. In April, 2021 CSTB received more than 2,400 applications for the SJC program. During the Covid -19 Pandemic, John also worked with the Board of Directors and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners to create the R3 – Rapid Response and Recovery Program, providing $11-12 million in training and direct placement opportunities to serve than 2,000 job seekers adversely impacted by Covid -19.
Under John’s leadership CSTB started restoring faith in our stewardship of using public dollars. 42% of our $24 million annual budget went to skills training, talent development, and operations to those ends, and 11% for general administration. For Program Year 2019-2020, CSTB’s success can be reflected in the fact that we enter the world of work and provided direct employment services to more than 39,000 unique individuals. CSTB estimates the annual economic impact via the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) TO BE $32,244,160 in Hillsborough County. The accomplishments John has made since stepping into this role have been remarkable. The community is proud to have him here in the Bay.
If you are an employer looking to scale your business with talent and resources or a job seeker looking for a new, promising career CareerSource Tampa Bay is here to be on your team! As a team who is focused on accountability, customers, collaboration, innovation and integrity they supply the highest professional behaviors in the community. To learn more about CareerSource Tampa Bay please visit https://www.careersourcetampabay.com/.
