Enhancing Florida's Wage Records

The need for a qualified workforce has never been more acute in Florida. For decades, Florida businesses have desired better labor market information to effectively recruit and retain talent; Florida education and workforce training programs have desired better data to evaluate student outcomes; Florida students and workers have desired better information to make informed education and career decisions; and finally, Florida’s legislative leadership has desired a more unified workforce system to help Floridians achieve economic self-sufficiency.

To take steps to solve these challenges, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 1507, also known as the 2021 Reimagining Education and Career Help (REACH) Act, requiring the Florida Department of Education (DOE), the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), and the Florida Governor’s REACH Office to establish enhanced connections between education and employment records to measure or verify the placement of graduates of Florida’s workforce and public postsecondary programs. Additionally, in 2019, Governor DeSantis wrote an executive order titled “Charting a Course for Florida to Become Number 1 in the Nation in Workforce Education by 2030 and Ensuring Florida Students are Prepared for the Jobs of the Future,” which established an audit of Florida’s career and technical education system to make sure it aligns with market demands.