Workforce Culture
Darryl Register
Patrick Wnek
“They do their jobs better than they were asked to do them,” says Darryl Register, head of Baker County Economic Development, describing North Florida’s skilled workforce, a workforce that powers success with performance that meets the specifications and exceeds the expectations of the region’s employers.
Superior K-12 standards. A focus on the future.
In a region where agricultural roots run deep, a culture of responsibility and hard work has been thoroughly ingrained over generations, and today workers are not only producing bountiful harvests, they are also producing the innovations that drive a rapidly diversifying economy. The culture of quality and hard work is instilled in K-12 school systems, where the strength of academics is supported by robust programming of career academies that turn out students both college- and career-ready.
Students in North Florida are thinking about work, planning for work and preparing to work at an early age, mindfulness that helps them prepare for 21st century challenges.
Executive Director of North East Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) Patrick Wnek interacts with students regularly, and he’s impressed with the character he sees. Describing students, he says, “They’re transparent, they’re real, they communicate. They’re very comfortable talking with adults. They already have soft skills.”
Culture of collaboration
Through its voluntary membership NEFEC brings together all of the region’s 15 counties to collaborate on educational goals and objectives, providing high level programs and services usually unavailable to small rural school districts. Critical collaboration informed by a data-centered approach allows systems to effectively share best practices and work together to find solutions. The results are reflected in higher quality school systems as well as higher test scores. Collaboration with local industry assures relevant and current skills.
Working hard and working together with purpose empowers education and skills acquisition, and makes the North Florida workforce a uniquely powerful force in the region’s prosperity.