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ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Workforce Development Association (FWDA) recognized outstanding workforce professionals, partners and leaders from across Florida during its 2026 Workforce Professional Development Summit held September 16–18 in Orlando. The annual Summit brings together workforce professionals and partners from across Florida to share best practices, strengthen partnerships, and explore innovative approaches to serving job seekers, businesses, and communities. Flo

The labor market carries its own seasons, and for decades we lived through a long summer. When the Baby Boom generation filled our workplaces, talent felt abundant. Businesses planned around the assumption that the pipeline would always flow with new workers arriving just in time, trained workers ready to swap jobs on demand, and a labor pool deep enough that employers rarely had to think about cultivating their own. That era shaped everything from HR practices to community e

Florida’s workforce system wasn’t built by accident. It was designed intentionally to be local, flexible, and responsive to the unique needs of each community. Our decentralized, locally driven structure is our greatest strength. Across Florida’s 21 regions, Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs) operate as incubators of innovation, where new ideas and approaches are regularly tested, refined, and shared. In this network-based model, innovation doesn’t happen in isolati