Jobs group brings in $165K

SARAOSTA-MANATEE — CareerEdge, a nonprofit work force development and employee training organization, raised $165,000 in the fourth quarter.

Chase Bank is the latest business to invest in the organization, according to a release. The bank, which gave $30,000 to CareerEdge, is currently undergoing a major expansion in branches on the Gulf Coast and statewide. Chase now joins Bank of America and several other organizations on CareerEdge's steering board. Sarasota County also provides some funds to the organization.

Chase's support will help CareerEdge build on its success in the health care sector and expand services into manufacturing in 2013, the release adds. “The investment made by Chase and our other partners will directly impact the economic prosperity of our region now and for years to come,” CareerEdge Executive Director Mireya Eavey says in the release. “The professional and financial stability that we help provide not only changes individual lives, but also has a rippling effect in our region. It's our investors who make that possible.”

CareerEdge seeks to build career paths for lower income employees. It focuses on growth industries and it assists employers who want to fill positions with skilled workers. “CareerEdge's work in helping more people gain important skills to keep our local economy strong is very important, and we are proud to support it,” Mont McNeal, Chase vice president of middle market banking for the west coast of Florida, says in the release.  “Working together with local economic development organizations and nonprofits like this can make our market more attractive to companies that are considering moving or expanding here.”

The Business Review profiled CareerEdge in 2011. Click here for more information on Career Edge.