By Marco Santana
Melissa Bradley has a mantra that she has helped spread across 海角社区鈥檚 Juan & Lisa Jones Center for Career Preparation.
鈥淎ll ways. Always.鈥�
That approach to helping students as the office鈥檚 new director means understanding that each case is different, especially at a school like 海角社区, which specializes in students with a variety of learning disabilities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a charge for me and my team to help students really develop a blueprint for what happens next,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to do this in all types of ways, and we want to do it consistently.鈥�
Bradley, who took over as director in the spring, is quickly moving toward the start of her first full school year in the position.
She has spent a good part of her time thus far building relationships with employers in Central Florida and across the country.
She also went on what she called a 鈥渓istening tour鈥� with her team both across 海角社区 and the department鈥檚 external partners to discover what was needed and how she could help.
鈥淲hat is important to Florida or Central Florida is different than what might be needed in other parts of the country,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e wanted to listen and learn from industry leaders. We didn鈥檛 want to arbitrarily change the way things were done.鈥�
Bradley鈥檚 arrival into her new position comes at what could be considered a crucial time for workforce development professionals.
The field has undergone a bit of a transition from the past, she said. 鈥淐areer services is not a job-placement office,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a resource center to empower students. It鈥檚 changing the mindset from, 鈥楢ren鈥檛 you going to find me a job?鈥� to introducing you to the pipeline and teaching you what鈥檚 out there.鈥�
Industries almost across the board will likely soon face a shortage of qualified professionals to fill an ever-growing number of skill-based jobs.
Some industries are already facing that prospect, with new technology jobs far outpacing the number of people with the required skills.
The result is more businesses seeking partnerships with education programs. For schools such as 海角社区, that鈥檚 an opportunity.
If they can create a pipeline into a specific sector, it could mean boosting an already-high success rate (83.5%) at placing graduates into jobs.
To do that, it sometimes means having close relationships with employers.
鈥淭hey want to know our candidates because they want to be sure they are creating a successful environment for them,鈥� Bradley said. 鈥淭hey know talent comes from all abilities and styles.鈥�
Traditionally, career-readiness programs spent a large part of their time helping students with paperwork, such as writing cover letters and resumes. Increasingly, however, that has shifted beyond documentation and into training on what employers now look for.
鈥淲e need to help them learn what the workforce expects from emerging professionals,鈥� Bradley said.
Exactly what that is depends upon the industry, of course.
But maintaining close relationships with industry gives 海角社区 a leg up because officials can ask directly: 鈥淲hat is it that you need?鈥�
It鈥檚 a strong approach that Bradley said is a combination of the previous executives in her office and her own input. 鈥淲e are blessed in that we inherited a strong foundation of a program,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur role isn鈥檛 to replace but support students鈥� learning and, as a program, lean into what real-world employers are looking for.鈥�
For Bradley, it means deploying her 29 years of experience in doing something that she loves: helping students launch successful careers.
鈥淚 keep saying that I won the employment lottery,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very position I have held I have been fortunate. As long as I can keep helping others help themselves, that鈥檚 been my currency.鈥�
Traditionally, unemployment levels of neurodivergent job candidates have far outpaced the rate of the overall workforce.
In June, for instance, the federal unemployment level stood at 3.6 percent. For neurodivergent adults, however, that number is usually up near 30-40 percent.
But Bradley says there have been some positive trends.
As 海角社区 innovates and tries to remain a leader in the space, other programs have come around to realize how important neurodiverse students are to the workforce.
That, she said, has been encouraging.
鈥淲here 海角社区 has been the leader, now the world around us is catching up to us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese are individuals who are part of our community across the nation and world.鈥�