By: Chelsea Thorn
Thursday May 28, 2015

The Children's Campaign is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization nestled in the heart of Tallahassee which advocates for public policies that promote the health, education, safety and well-being of Florida's children. To ensure this organization remains successful in its endeavors, The Children's Campaign created an innovative workforce development initiative known as The Apprenticeship Center, (TAC). This entity supports The Children's Campaign through web development, social media, database management, systems administration, public policy, legislative analysis, communications, public relations, marketing, human resources and accounting. Since its inception in 2007, TAC has provided apprenticeship opportunities to over 450 students through its live learning laboratory. Through this approach, students are able to better understand the value of service learning and engage in leadership and management development activities.

TAC believes that success in the workforce is dependent on how effectively businesses use technology. The Children's Campaign Executive Director, Linda Alexionok, has been networking with FITC Project Investigator Dr. Larry Dennis for years through their involvement with the FSU College of Communication and Information Board of Directors. Through this connection, TAC learned of the Florida IT Career Alliance and its initiatives to employ knowledgable graduates in the IT, computer science and computer engineering fields. The partnership between the two was a no-brainer. Since becoming partners, The Children's Campaign has participated in both of FITC's career fairs to recruit IT apprentices for its TAC. TAC provides students with apprentice opportunities in database, web development, social media and system administration (desktop, server and network support).

Through TAC, The Children's Campaign offers its apprentices ample opportunity to gain real-world workforce knowledge that they may carry with them long after graduation. Currently, TAC has several student apprentices and staff members from Florida State University, hailing from a variety of Bachelor's and Master's programs. One of these students is FITC's very own Student Ambassador, Joey Cardenas. In addition to being an active member of FITC, Joey also works for The Children's Campaign as a Systems Administrator Apprentice. Past apprentices and staff members have used the knowledge learned from The Children's Campaign to gain successful careers in the Information Technology, Marketing, and Business industries: Diego Corzo went on to work for General Motors. Jeremy Hanes is now a Systems Consultant at BST Global. Suzie Tawny now works for BancVue as a Marketing Project Manager. Stephen Tracy is a Systems Engineer at Entech US and Greg Ungemach is a Product Specialist at MedPro Systems.

Interested in an apprenticeship? Simply email your resume to resumes@iamforkids.org. Only candidates with strong initiative, determination and cooperation will be considered. The abilities to communicate effectively and organize efficiently are required. Desired skills include WordPress knowledge and a basic understanding of database concepts. To learn more about The Children's Campaign, connect with them on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

The Florida IT Career Alliance is an initiative funded by the Florida Board of Governors which aims to recruit, retain, and employ Florida's next generation technology workforce. FITC promotes information technology, computer science, and computer engineering to local high schools and college students across Florida. Connect with FITC on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.