PNC Foundation has pledged $25,000 to Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida in support of its Opportunity Accelerator Program.

OA is a new mentorship program offered through Goodwill that individualizes the delivery of digital skills, job placement, and career training services to each job seeker and career advancer in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities. In southwest Florida, 35% of the population is LMI, while another 12% live in poverty.

This collaborative approach between Goodwill OA and the LMI community will help financially challenged individuals fulfill their true potential and create equity across Goodwill programs.

Earlier this year, Goodwill conducted a study to take a closer look at the labor market and discovered while demand for labor remains strong, the labor pool is lacking in skills, with 66% of those surveyed needing additional skills or training to get the job they wanted, and 57% reported missing out on jobs in the past two years because they lacked the needed skills.

To fill the skills gap, Goodwill has developed the Opportunity Accelerator to bring much-needed training to those who do not have access to higher-education and paid training opportunities. Through Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida’s eight Community Resource Centers, job seekers and career advancers can get a hand-up into better paying opportunities and can increase their independence enabling them to better provide for themselves and their families.

Goodwill Community Resource Center coordinators move career advancers through three phases: Assess and Plan, Equip and Connect, and Launch and Evaluate. The resources provided in the OA framework have been tested in a number of environments (urban, suburban and rural) and with a diverse population of job seekers, from adults young and old, to persons with disabilities and veterans.

Goodwill helps people facing challenges find employment, including people with disabilities, veterans and military families, youth and young adults, older workers, people reintegrating into society and others working to advance their careers. Goodwill transforms generations by empowering people through education, career training and work.