Photo Courtesy of Goodwill Industries of Central Florida
According to a study by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, about two in five college students drop out of school due to financial reasons. With this and other reasons in mind, on May 3, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida (GICF) announced its new Tuition Scholarship Program. The program will cover the cost of college tuition or vocational certification for employees.
To be eligible for this program, part- and full-time GICF employees must have 90 days of continuous employment; enroll at a Florida state public college/university, accredited technical college or trade school; and maintain a passing grade of “C” or its equivalent. Under the Tuition Scholarship Program, part- and full-time GICF employees will be eligible to have 100% of their tuition, books and other fees covered in advance, rather than reimbursed. The prepaid tuition program embodies Goodwill’s mission of “building lives that work” and serves to attract new employees when combined with Goodwill’s benefits package.
Interested GICF employees will be paired with a Prosperity Planner. A Prosperity Planner is a Goodwill team member who specializes in financial and career goal strategies. Alongside the Prosperity Planner, employees will be able to receive one-on-one coaching and guidance in reaching their educational goals as well as developing an individualized action plan.
“We want our employees to be trained to be successful at their jobs – and we want their jobs to help them accomplish the goals they desire in life,” said Ed Durkee, president and CEO at Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. “We believe that the cost of education should not stand in the way of those aspirations, so we intend to provide employees with the financial pathway to achieve a degree or skilled trade.”
Goodwill already has about 80 employees interested in the program. Two of the employees who will benefit from the program, Luis Diaz and Sheena Reed, have shared what the program means to them and how it has impacted their career trajectories. Diaz is pursuing a psychology degree from the University of Central Florida with the help of this tuition program. Reed, an employee at the Lake Nona store, will attend Valencia to pursue a degree in photography. With the help of Prosperity Planner and Lake Nona resident David Watson, Reed has been able to better prepare for returning to school.
“My experience has been very outstanding with David,” Reed said. “I’m a harder case than most other people because we have to go through all the schooling that I had in Germany. He’s been going out of his way, above and beyond, and sending me checklists, checking in, and that helps me a lot. If I had to go through this by myself, I wouldn’t be as encouraged as I am right now.”
“My experience as a Prosperity Planner is that you’re trying to meet a person where they’re at,” Watson explained. “They come with their various life goals, career goals or financial goals, and it only works if that person is willing to put in the work and share what have been their challenges to get there. Sheena has been the type of member that I would love to work with every single time … being open, upfront and doing work. It’s been a great experience for me as well.”
GICF employs over 1,200 people across Orange, Osceola, Lake, Brevard, Seminole and Volusia counties. Currently, there are job openings in various departments, including retail, HR, IT, transportation and warehouse. Individuals interested in working at Goodwill should fill out an application at www.GoodwillCFL.org and monitor Goodwill’s social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) for announcements about upcoming hiring events.
