Over the course of this two-year initiative, the City of Jacksonville will commit to addressing inequities in access to and success in higher education, as well as obstacles to securing meaningful employment. As part of the program, representatives from the NLC and LinkedIn recently visited Jacksonville to promote equity, education and employment. They also discussed ways to boost economic opportunities throughout the community.

“We are fortunate to live in a city with a wide variety of quality education and employment opportunities for citizens,” said Mayor Lenny Curry. “Jacksonville is enjoying great momentum in economic development, and participation in this NLC initiative will strengthen that progress. I am committed to building our talent pipeline by ensuring that all citizens, especially at-hope youth, have access to opportunities that open doors to career success.”

The visit featured a community conversation attended by Jacksonville business and civic leaders and community partners including the Jax Chamber, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Duval County Public Schools, CareerSource and other stakeholders. LinkedIn representatives shared data about important education, employment and talent trends in Jacksonville. With the ultimate goal of ensuring opportunities for all Jacksonville citizens, that data will supplement efforts to create policies and programs that support the attainment of higher education credentials and meaningful employment.