Overview
The Southwest Florida Equitable Jobs Pipeline is actively seeking employer partners in Southwest Florida who are enthusiastic about sustaining workforce development initiatives in four key sectors for both new and existing employees: PK-12 Education, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Healthcare through participation in the Equitable Jobs Pipeline. Ideally, proposals will include a well-defined strategy for the employer to gradually assume the cost of training, with the goal of achieving sustainability by December 2025.
Total amount to be awarded: $3,800,000.00
Proposals will be accepted between January 15, 2024 through October 31st 2024, with awards going out in April, July and December.
Round 2 of applications will be accepted until May 15th at 5pm
If interested, please submit the form below to give an overview of your proposal project to If you need help with connecting to a training provider, please submit the form below to give an overview of your proposal project.
Employers will:
- Identify programs needed to upskill current employees and/or new hires.
- Commit to hiring or accelerate current employees on career pathway after training.
- Commit to sustaining training by gradually assuming training costs for sustainability.
Training Providers will:
- Work with employers to create or adapt existing programs to meet employers needs.
- Offer training in a format conducive to participants working while attending training.
- Work with employers to help identify ways to make training sustainable after grant funding is over.
Ready to get started?
Click on First Steps in the menu to review initial proposal components to If you’d like assistance connecting with a training provider, please click on Initial Proposal on the left hand side. If you do not need assistance with the pairing up with a training partner, please select proposal documents on the left.
First Steps
In the initial proposal you will need to identify and submit:
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Project point of contact name, email and phone number
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Description of the project
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Which sector the project falls within
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Total budget for project
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Amount requested from the Equitable Jobs Pipeline funding
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Training provider(s) institution name, point of contact name and contact information
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Type of credential to be earned
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Length of programÂ
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If you would assistance from FutureMakers Coalition in connecting with training providers
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a group of employers work with a training provider and submit together at one time?
Yes, as long as there is one point person identified in the proposal multiple partners can submit together.
Can the grant fund stipends to participants?
No, payments from the grant cannot be made directly to participants.
Can a training provider submit a proposal?
Yes, as long as they have commitments to hire from employers in the 4 sectors funded by this project (PK-12 Education, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Healthcare). Employers will need to commit to hiring employees from the training.
Is there a maximum amount to request?
Proposals will be reviewed by the average cost per participant. If the average amount per participant is higher than $4,700 proposals should clearly state how the program will be funded long term and detail the partnerships with employers.
Can equipment be a part of the project budget?
Yes.
What cannot be funded?
Direct payments to participants (such as bonuses or stipends), uniforms, housing assistance, car payments, insurance payments, if you have a cost you are unsure about please reach out to Lisa Freitas at [email protected].
Do we have to show sustainability?
Yes, proposals must outline how the training program will be funded after the project funding ends in 2025.
Forms
Detailed Proposal
The detailed proposal form will need to be upload into the portal for scoring. You can also view the scoring matrix the scoring committee will be utilizing to ensure your proposal outlines what the scoring committee will be looking for. If denied, the scoring committee may provide feedback and applicants can resubmit in a subsequent phase of funding, if applicable.
Employer Commitment to Hire:
This RFP requires documentation of the predetermined partnership between employers and training providers. Applications must include commitments to hire from the program, below is a link to our commitment to hire template.
Scoring Criteria:
Applicants are encouraged to view the scoring matrix to see what the scoring committee will be looking for while reviewing proposals.
RFP Portal:
Applicants will need to complete the detailed proposal form and have employer commitments to hire ready to upload into the portal. Applicants are encouraged to submit an initial proposal to gain feedback from out team, but it is not mandatory. Once you are ready to submit your official application click below to create an account in the Kaleidoscope application portal.
