Lakeland Business Guide 2019 Chamber Guide_2019 | Page 76
Foundation hopes to be awarded grants
from public and private sectors to expand
the educational and skills training efforts
being provided in the community. There is
a particular focus on providing the skills
training to the underserved community,”
says Pettaway.
The mission of the Foundation is to
increase programming to benefit the
Lakeland business community, with a
focus on workforce development, new
business development, talent development,
and leadership pipelines. Although the
Foundation will continue as a grants
program, the focus will shift to providing
grants to organizations that provide
educational business training, job skills
training, and efforts towards employment
for the economically disadvantaged.
“These changes will begin to address
the needs identified by Lakeland business
leaders,” says Pettaway. “The education
will provide backbones for more sound
business practices and hopefully more
successful and sustainable businesses.
The skills training will meet a gap in the
workforce that is currently not being met,
while also training the underemployed
to earn livable wages and obtain valuable
skills currently desired in the workforce.”
New programs that have been
introduced through the Foundation’s
renovation include Business 101,
Leadership and Management Training,
and Internships. The signature program
of the Foundation is known as A Skills
Gap, which will focus on workplace
development.
A unique program, A Skills Gap
was developed through a partnership
the Foundation formed with Polk State
College. The training program focuses
on workforce development initiatives
in Lakeland. The aim is to provide
educational opportunities to the working
under-served in order to fill the skills
gap for certified and trained labor. Topics
included in the training are industrial
maintenance and machining, advanced
manufacturing, IT/computer, supply
chain and logistics, medical billing and
“The idea
is that if we
interact with
these businesses
before their
doors open, they
will stay open.”
– DA R L A S E C H R E S T P E T TAWAY
76