Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Workforce topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Florida launches Zello career platform; county schools and businesses urged to sign up
Summary
A state-sponsored career and financial-literacy platform called Zello is being used by Florida school districts; Royal Palm Beach officials heard a presentation and were asked to encourage local businesses to create profiles to expand work‑based learning opportunities.
Ralph Aiello, partnership manager for the Florida Department of Education’s statewide college-and-career advisement platform, told the Royal Palm Beach council on March 20 that the state has deployed the Zello platform to connect K–12 students with career exploration, work‑based learning opportunities and financial‑literacy resources.
Aiello said the state selected Zello through a statewide procurement and that the platform is available to all 67 school districts and public and charter schools in Florida. He said the platform supports career exploration starting in elementary school, a required middle‑school career education class established by recent state law and required high‑school financial literacy; it also lists registered apprenticeships and labor‑market data for Florida occupations.
Aiello asked the village and local businesses to join the statewide work‑based learning network by creating business profiles and listing internships, guest‑speaking opportunities, site tours and other work‑based learning options. He said businesses in the network gain “brand visibility” across Florida’s roughly 2.8 million public K–12 students and that any level of participation — from a single guest speaker hour to internships — helps build local talent pipelines.
Aiello provided statewide usage figures: he said Zello is in its second statewide year, that the vendor account covers roughly 2,800,000 students statewide, and reported more than 830,000 unique students used the platform this school year with over 3,800,000 total interactions. He said the state-funded service is free to districts, schools, parents and businesses.
Council members thanked Aiello and asked how small businesses would participate; Aiello said small, medium and large employers can all register and create profiles listing opportunities. Council members also asked about the financial‑literacy tools available to middle‑school students; Aiello said the lifestyle simulator and financial modules are accessible in the platform to middle‑school users and that the system can link out to additional local resources when needed.
Aiello left a QR code and contact form for businesses and organizations to request setup assistance.
Why it matters: local employers’ participation determines students’ access to internships, apprenticeships and experiential learning. Council members suggested using local chambers and economic development partners to recruit business participation.
