Goodwill Industries Expands Workforce Programs, Connecting Residents to Career Opportunities

Goodwill Industries of Central Florida is deepening its investment in workforce development across the region, rolling out a one-on-one career coaching model called the Prosperity Platform while expanding a school partnership that has placed 60 Exceptional Student Education students in hands-on retail training roles since August 2024.

The Prosperity Platform pairs participants directly with dedicated planners to set and achieve career and financial goals. The initiative builds on Goodwill's existing suite of services, which includes hands-on job skills training, prepaid tuition for college, trade school or professional certifications for all employees, and referrals to community partners through a program called Goodwill Connects. Together, those programs are designed to remove barriers across employment, education, housing, health and financial stability, according to the organization.

The school partnership, active in Orange, Seminole and Lake counties, places ESE high school students at seven Goodwill locations: Leesburg, Clermont, Winter Garden, Apopka, Curry Ford, West Sanford and Oviedo. Since the program launched in August 2024, participants have rotated through roles including donation attendants, processors, store clerks and sorters, learning the full retail cycle from donation intake through sales-floor merchandising.

Evans High School student Jahleke Lewis is among those taking part. Lewis and his classmates travel twice a week to the Goodwill store in Apopka as part of the training curriculum.

A Goodwill leader identified as Chandler described the organization's ambitions for the program in direct terms. "Making sure that we are working with every school system to provide this same level of care," Chandler said. "We have stores in six counties in Central Florida, and we want to make sure we're serving all of them so our expansion looks like: Can we be everywhere doing this?"

Goodwill Industries of Central Florida has operated in the region for more than 60 years under the mission phrase "Building Lives that Work." Community donations, the organization notes, directly fund the job creation and employment training services that make programs like the school partnership possible.

Residents seeking more information about Goodwill's programs, employee benefits or career opportunities can visit GoodwillCFL.org.