CareerSource Polk

What CareerSource Polk does

CareerSource Polk is the statutorily designated local workforce development board for Polk County, Florida, operating as a private non-profit since 1996 under the CareerSource Florida network of 21 regional boards. The organization delivers free employment and training services to two customer segments: job seekers (including targeted programs for veterans, youth ages 16-24, TANF/SNAP recipients, SSDI beneficiaries, and mature workers 50+) and Polk County employers seeking recruitment and training support. Core service lines include WIOA-funded career development with up to $15,000 in tuition assistance per participant, veteran priority services, Ticket to Work, Welfare Transition, SNAP E&T, employer training grants (OJT reimbursements of 50-75% of wages, Employed Worker Training, Incumbent Worker Training, Quick Response Training), REACT layoff aversion, and the Summer Youth Internship Program paying $15/hour.

The technology stack centers on the state-provided Employ Florida Marketplace job bank (job posting, resume search, virtual recruiter alerts, automated candidate matching) supplemented by the CareerScope interest/aptitude assessment, Florida Ready to Work Credential testing, and a physical Mobile Unit that delivers recruitment and training services to employer sites countywide. Distribution spans two full-service career centers (Lakeland and Winter Haven), a Bartow administrative office, a Haines City satellite, and an Oakland Neighborhood Center Young Leaders site. The organization also operates signature employer-engagement programs including the Best Places to Work Awards (running since 2003) and the annual State of the Workforce Summit.

The operating model is grant-funded: federal workforce awards from the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Education channel through Florida Commerce and total approximately $11.7-12M annually. All services are provided at no cost to job seekers and employers, eliminating price as a friction point and instead competing on accessibility, partnership density, and statutory legitimacy. Governance is provided by a 30+ member volunteer board of directors, 80% from the private sector, appointed by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners to three-year terms. Leadership has been stable, with Stacy Campbell-Domineck serving as President & CEO since September 2006.

Name

CareerSource Polk

Legal name

CareerSource Polk

Website

https://careersourcepolk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CareerSource Polk is the designated non-profit workforce development board for Polk County, Florida, delivering free federal-funded job search, WIOA training (up to $15K tuition), employer recruitment, and youth programs to job seekers and employers via career centers, a mobile unit, and statewide online job bank.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Employment Services (5613), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Administration of Human Resource Programs (except Education, Public Health, and Veterans' Affairs Programs) (92313), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Workforce Development Programs (WIOA/One-Stop Career Centers) (EDAAAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Job Readiness Support Services (BPAGAEAJ), State/Provincial Labor, Employment Standards & Workforce Development Administration (BPAIABAN), Individual Outplacement & Career Coaching (BPACAOAA), Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs (BPACANAK)

Keywords

• Workforce development services
• Employment training programs
• Career counseling services
• Job placement assistance
• Employer recruitment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bartow

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Federal Workforce Development Grants: CareerSource Polk operates as a non-profit workforce development organization funded primarily by federal grants from the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Education. Awards total approximately $11.7-12 million for program years, with services provided at no cost to job seekers and employers.
2. State-Funded Programs: Administers state workforce programs including Re-employment Assistance, Welfare Transition Program, SNAP E&T, and Trade Adjustment Assistance in partnership with Florida Commerce.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CareerSource Polk is the designated local workforce development board for Polk County, Florida, operating as a non-profit that delivers free employment and training services to job seekers and employers. Core offerings include job search assistance, resume and interview preparation, career counseling, WIOA-funded training with tuition assistance up to $15,000, employer recruitment and training grants, youth workforce programs, and specialized services for veterans, individuals with disabilities, and welfare recipients.

Product overview

CareerSource Polk is a non-profit workforce development organization providing employment and training services to Polk County, Florida. The organization operates as a unified service platform offering three main categories: career seeker services (job search assistance, WIOA training programs, veteran services, career assessment), employer services (recruitment, training grants, labor market information), and youth programs (Young Leaders, Summer Youth Internship). Core platforms include the Employ Florida Marketplace job bank for job matching, while programs like Ticket to Work and Welfare Transition provide specialized support. Services are provided at no cost to job seekers and employers, funded by federal awards totaling approximately $11.7 million from U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WIOA Career Development and Training Program

Quantifiable outcome

• T.O.T.A.L. H.E.A.L.T.H. MATTERS Initiative served 500 eligible residents
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Florida CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState workforce agency partner that provides funding, policy guidance, and oversight for workforce development programs including Employ Florida job bank, Re-employment Assistance, and training programs.
• Vocational RehabilitationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency providing vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, partnering to serve shared customers seeking employment.
• Florida Division of Blind ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency serving individuals who are blind or visually impaired, co-locating services at career centers.
• Agricultural and Labor Program (ALPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Action Agency providing services to agricultural workers and low-income families in partnership with CareerSource Polk.
• Polk County Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal education partner for youth programs, GED preparation, and career and technical education pathways.
• Job CorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal workforce program providing no-cost education and vocational training for youth ages 16-24, partnered for referrals and service coordination.
• AARP FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit serving workers age 50+ in Polk County, partnering for mature worker employment services.
• Lakeland Housing AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier sponsor of 2026 Annual Meeting. CareerSource Polk President/CEO serves as Commissioner on the Housing Authority board.
• Farm Worker Jobs & Educational ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal program providing workforce training for migrant and seasonal farmworkers, partnered for specialized services.
• Community Wellness by United WaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the $500,000 T.O.T.A.L. H.E.A.L.T.H. MATTERS Initiative serving 500 eligible Polk County residents with barriers to employment.
• Ogletree DeakinsmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployment law firm partnering as presenting sponsor for the annual State of the Workforce Summit, providing HR legal updates and continuing education credits.
• Early Learning Coalition of Polk CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for childcare resources and subsidized childcare vouchers for welfare transition program participants.
• AARP Foundation (Lakeland location)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal AARP Foundation office in Lakeland (863) 499-1290 providing job search resources for workers 50+.
• Polk State Corporate CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContact: [email protected]; (863) 669-2933. Partners for Incumbent Worker Training Program and customized skills training.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Per Scholas: National non-profit providing tuition-free tech training and career support to underserved adults, often partnering with local workforce boards. Comparable to CareerSource Polk's employer training grants and Polk State Corporate College partnerships but focused specifically on IT workforce pipelines.
• Year Up: National workforce development non-profit focused on young adults (18-24) from low-income communities, providing training-to-employment pathways with employer partners. Overlaps with CareerSource Polk's Young Leaders and Summer Youth Internship programs but specializes in tech-enabled training rather than full WIOA delivery.

Direct peers

• Goodwill Industries-Suncoast: Non-profit organization operating the Tampa Bay region's largest job connection program and mission-services workforce contracts, overlapping CareerSource Polk's target populations (people with disabilities, veterans, returning citizens). Directly competes for state/federal workforce contract dollars and employer partnerships in adjacent geography.
• CareerSource Tampa Bay & Pinellas: Fellow WIOA-funded regional workforce development board in the same Florida CareerSource network, serving the neighboring Hillsborough/Pinellas labor market. Operates with the same statutory mandate, funding structure, and program mix (WIOA, TAA, SNAP E&T, Welfare Transition), making it the closest operational and structural peer to CareerSource Polk.
• CareerSource Heartland: Rural Florida CareerSource workforce board serving Highlands and Hardee counties (adjacent to Polk). Mirrors CareerSource Polk's program portfolio including WIOA tuition assistance, youth, veteran, and employer training grant services, scaled to a smaller rural labor market.
• CareerSource Central Florida: Regional CareerSource Florida workforce board serving Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Lake counties. Operates under identical WIOA governance and program structure as CareerSource Polk, with overlapping employer and job-seeker services in the broader Central Florida labor market.
• CareerSource Suncoast: Adjacent Florida workforce development board serving Manatee and Sarasota counties. Same WIOA designation, employer training grants (OJT, IWT), career center model, and centralized grant funding structure - a directly comparable regional peer operating immediately west of Polk County.

Broad incumbents

• CareerSource Florida: Statewide umbrella organization for all 24 regional workforce boards (including CareerSource Polk), coordinating policy, state funding allocation, and Employ Florida Marketplace. Acts as the broker/incumbent layer above CareerSource Polk rather than a direct delivery competitor.
• Indeed: Largest global online job board, freely available to both employers and job seekers in the U.S., directly competing for candidate sourcing and employer-recruitment demand that CareerSource Polk's Employ Florida Marketplace-based career centers also serve. Broad incumbent in the same hiring-services category at national scale.
• LinkedIn (Talent Solutions): Microsoft-owned professional network with dominant share of professional and managerial candidate sourcing; offers free job seeker tools and paid employer/recruiter solutions that overlap with the career-center and job-board value CareerSource Polk delivers through Employ Florida Marketplace.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CareerSourcePolk
• Xx.com/CareerSourceP

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CareerSource Polk