Community partnerships create path to jobs for young people in Florida
In Naples, Florida, young people are finding an easier path to employment thanks to Project B.U.I.L.D. The nonprofit organization, one of FHI 360’s partners in the Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC), received its first-ever federal grant in 2024 and has already enrolled more than 60 participants in its workforce development programs.
Enrolling students meant competing with everything else going on their lives — especially the negative influences, says Project B.U.I.L.D. Founder, Executive Director and CEO Aram Wheatley.
“I’m competing with the streets,” he says. “I’m competing with drugs; I’m competing with all these things that could bring a student down.”
Aram offers young people a supportive program where they can gain job skills, work with a mentor, and, hopefully, develop a renewed sense of purpose.
The Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC) is a network funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Growth Opportunities grant and managed by FHI 360’s National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL). NIWL provides our partners with guidance on meeting grant deliverables, developing recruitment strategies, monitoring performance, improving employer partnerships and increasing employment opportunities.
Sustainable outcomes through partnerships and community
Project B.U.I.L.D. focuses on connecting participants with in-demand trades. Students earn credentials, and, thanks to Aram’s strong partnerships and the Department of Labor’s funding, they can access paid on-the-job training opportunities and apprenticeships. They can receive virtual reality training in HVAC, plumbing, carpentry and electrician work from the learning and career development platform Interplay Learning or receive a pre-apprenticeship from the Florida Department of Education. Participants also gain construction work experience through Habitat for Humanity of Collier County, with tools provided by Ace Hardware of Southwest Florida.
Connecting participants to work opportunities that extend beyond the program has been key to their success. “The partnerships really help make the change sustainable for the participants,” Aram says.
In addition, working with local groups helps Project B.U.I.L.D. and its participants become a trusted presence in the community. “Local partnerships get the community behind you,” Aram said. “They see you as part of a united front.”
“It brought me chills. Setting these kids up for success all starts with love and relationship-building. There’s nobody that I thank more than them.”
– CEO Aram Wheatley
Aram has been grateful for FHI 360’s support in navigating the necessary goals and deliverables of a federal grant, as well as assisting in finding local and national partners.
“FHI 360 wants to help build nonprofits and help them become more sustainable. We’ve grown tremendously and a great part of that is FHI 360,” he said. “We take advantage of every nook and cranny FHI 360 has to offer — I’m just enjoying the run.”
Project B.U.I.L.D.’s success as an organization, and as part of the CRC, has led it to open a new office to serve young people in Atlanta, Georgia. Aram and his staff spend anywhere between 20 to 30 hours a week with participants, often offering their guidance above and beyond program requirements. “It has to stay a family environment,” says Aram.
Aram defines programmatic success by how successful participants are. “The major success is the students. We just help them take pride in what they do,” says Aram. “From there, they start running the program, too. They bring their friends and show them how to take pride in their skills.”
Aram recalled a recent example. Just before the end of summer break, Project B.U.I.L.D. held an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) class that had perfect attendance. Through Aram and his team’s efforts, the students, ages 16 to 24, had become so invested in developing their lives and careers that they chose to spend the last few days of their vacation learning new skills and being with their found family.
“It brought me chills. Setting these kids up for success all starts with love and relationship-building,” Aram says. “There’s nobody that I thank more than them.”
FHI 360’s Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC/GO4) is supported by the Employment Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor as part of an award totaling $5.1 million with 0% financed from non-governmental sources.