By: Bobby Carbonell, Executive Director, Veterans Florida
Every business has a need for a talented workforce and today’s veterans are a great fit for any company looking for hard-working, intelligent men and women with a unique mission-focused attitude. Veterans Florida is here to help your business recruit, hire and train America’s best talent resource, our veterans.
Veterans Florida is a non-profit corporation created by the State of Florida to help veterans fully transition to civilian life in the Sunshine State. We connect veterans to employers, grant funds to employers to hire and train veterans, and educate veterans on how to open their own businesses in the Florida.
Why hire veterans? According to research conducted by Veterans Florida, hiring agents report that veterans rate significantly higher for productivity, reduced turnover and reduced training needs as compared to their civilian peers.
Whether you are hiring your first veteran or you’re a seasoned veteran-friendly employer, we can help you.
The Veterans Florida Business Training Grant program provides funding to qualifying businesses to train their new, full-time veteran employees. Funding is provided in the form of a performance-based reimbursable grant, for a 12-month maximum term per new veteran employee. A business is reimbursed by Veterans Florida for 50% of the training cost per veteran employee, with a maximum amount of $8,000 per employee.
The Veterans Florida Career Portal was recently launched as a way to connect veterans who live or would like to move to Florida with employers in the state. Businesses can register for a free account on our website, which gives them the ability to post their job announcements and search our resume database.
Veterans Florida’s comprehensive, nationwide advertising campaign draws hundreds of thousands of veterans and their families to our website to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available for them in the Sunshine State. By working with Veterans Florida, your business can tap into this audience and recruit from America’s best talent resource: our veterans.
Our Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program helped over 160 veterans start their own businesses in 2016 and we’re gearing up to start the next program in January. The program is always in need of business owners to serve as mentors and resources for our entrepreneurs in training. Florida business owners and leaders who wish to volunteer can reach out to Veterans Florida to find out more.
Businesses can find and connect with Veterans Florida online at www.veteransflorida.org.