Oct
10
While advocates and legislature wrangle, businesses must pick up the pieces
By CAROL J. DeFRANK
Business Writer
and SARA FITZPATRICK
Associate Editor
This month hundreds of disabled Southwest Florida residents may lose fundamental services that help them get to work, including job training and transportation.
Area businesses that employ the disabled may also be at a loss.
A new tier system voted on by the budget-strapped legislature will cap Medicaid benefits the disabled now use to also pay for housing and therapy.
Among other prominent companies in the region, Publix, FGCU, SunTrust Bank and Lee Memorial Health Services have made hiring the disabled part of their mission and corporate persona.
The question now is: Will their dedication be strong enough to overcome the challenges presented by the funding cuts?
Oct
10
Workforce Board tackles hiring for high-tech
Filed Under Economic Development, Technology, Workforce issues | Leave a Comment
New division focuses on IT, medical and specialty jobs
“If businesses do not have the ability to recruit highly skilled employees, they will never have the ability to compete.” – James I. Wall, Business Development Division director of the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board Inc.
By ROBERT DEANE, Business Writer
With the current job market, it’s easy to fill most positions these days. But what if you’re in need of a highly trained specialist – someone experienced in information technology or medicine, for example?
That’s a challenge the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board Inc. (SFWDB) is in the process of answering – with the new Business Development Division (BDB).
Whereas the SFWDB has been and continues to be an aid for individuals seeking employment, the new division is deigned to help businesses with the tools that they need to stay competitive – primarily in the area of education.
Oct
10
Study tracks new investment in labor and human rights
Filed Under Economic Development, Trends, Workforce issues | Leave a Comment
STAFF REPORT
Mainstream investors are for the first time beginning to assess labor and human rights factors as a way of increasing returns and lowering risk, according to a new study released by Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program (LWP).
“Incorporating Human and Labor Rights Risk into Investment Decisions” indicates a growing number of institutional investors and global lenders are widening conventional investment decision-making to incorporate assessments of the long-term sustainability risks posed by corporate labor and human rights practices. Read more
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