A new program from CareerSource Tampa Bay is working to help businesses hire locals affected by the Covid-19 pandemic — with the hope that those hires will become permanent even after the program is finished.
The program, part of the Rapid Response Recovery (R3) program through CareerSource Tampa Bay, was created from $25 million set aside by the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners. Those funds came from the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act funding the county received this summer.
John Flanagan, CEO of CareerSource Tampa Bay, said the program has helped just under 1,000 enrolled, with 300 businesses participating. The program is for any unemployed or underemployed worker who was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Businesses enrolled can connect with interested job seekers and have them in an "On the Job" 90-day training session. The R3 program will cover the cost of temporarily employing the job seeker. Interested businesses can have the job seekers in a 90-day program and receive up to $4,000 to pay said employees.
"We match talent that had been displaced and matched them with opportunities available in various industry sectors," Flanagan said. IT and manufacturing were the most involved sectors.
For E2Generations, a Tampa-based software company, the program provided a way to test-drive initiatives originally placed on the back burner during the pandemic.
"We intended to open some training program as we continued to grow but we didn't think we would be able to do that for another year or so," Kyle Eddins, CEO of E2Generations, said. "This expedited the chance for a more homegrown, on the ground training program. If we work out the process and the kinks, we hope it's something we would be able to continue after the R3 program ends."
The company currently has two people in the program, and it hopes to add another two to three people by the end of the year.
"It's given us an opportunity to bring on folks that are a little bit junior in their career, that we may not have been able to invest in as much," Eddins said. "But since [CareerSource Tampa Bay] is supporting us, it has opened up the door to bring in folks and allow them enough time to ramp up on our business ... with the hope that after the 90 day period to transition and become full-time employees."
Eddins is also hopeful other Tampa Bay businesses will take advantage of the program before it ends in December.
"There was definitely questions I had where 'It's almost too good to be true,'" he said. "Any time you have that feeling, you're a little hesitant but [CareerSource Tampa Bay] was super responsive and it made sense to pull the trigger on it."
