Forbes recently reported that independent workers, many of them entrepreneurs and small business owners, will make up half of the nation’s workforce by 2025. The trend is moving away from just “I want to find a job” to “I want to create my job.”
The Startup Quest program is gaining national attention – as evidenced by a $12 million U.S. Department of Labor grant – for its innovative approach to entrepreneurship and community collaboration. The program prepares highly educated individuals to create jobs for themselves by building businesses and partnerships with NASA and various Florida universities.
Graduates of the 10-session program, now operating in eight regions of the state, have gained expertise and created high-level jobs. As of spring 2015, Startup Quest has 1,190 graduates, 558 of which are employed and 154 of which are self-employed.
The program is now offered by Career Source Florida.
