Atilus Announces the Launch of the YP Portal – Southwest Florida’s first ever young professional portal with helpful information dedicated solely to business professionals under 40.
It has been an absolute pleasure working with such a diverse group of talented individuals and organizations on the YP Portal Project. We are proud to announce that we’ve successfully launched the new Young Professional Portal that will provide our young Southwest Florida workforce with a single more effective source of information relating to area events, activities, and opportunities for career advancement.
We’d like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the following individuals and organizations:
- YP Development Project Manager, Phil Henninge
- Dr. Guido A. Minaya and Warren Baucom with the Horizon Council Workforce Committee
- John Boland, Executive Director of the Lee County Economic Development Office
- Sarah Owen, President, and CEO of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation
- Ashley Skalecki of the SW Florida Community Foundation
- Joe Nugent and Chelsea Clementi with the Bonita Springs YP Group
- Dan Sinclair with Young Professionals Fort Myers
- Young Professionals of Naples
- Melissa Cofta with Leadership NEXT
- Kristy Keyes with Chicos FAS, Inc.
- Michelle M. Zech with Lee Memorial
- Marc Farron, IT Consultant at FSBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University
- Bryon McCartney, Partner and Creative Director with Brilliant Lens
Key Problems
Young professionals are now on the front-line of our workforce and are the future leaders of Southwest Florida. Studies developed by the Horizon Council Workforce Task Force recognized an emerging need to set the next workforce generation up for success. Area young professionals expressed a need for more access to the business community, more engagement with fellow peers, and the ability to create more of a societal impact in their careers. Young professionals are seeking a city where they can come and make their mark and unfortunately, the business leaders of Southwest Florida were not invested enough into the millennial generation to adequately provide them with the tools necessary for them to stay and thrive. Local organizations are now trying to help bridge this gap by investing in new area initiatives and with the launch of the new YP Portal.
Young professionals are out there and they are looking to grow in their personal life and in their careers and willing to help with the prosperity of the local business community. The YP Portal will be a contributing factor to help our millennial workforce make their mark. Sarah Owen, CEO of SWFL Community Foundation, stated this perfectly at the YP Summit that was held on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016: “Young Professionals are challenging the lives we never created for ourselves”. Young professionals are creating the “future of work”, with more meaning, more engagement, and more purpose!
“The new portal was funded by Chico’s FAS, Inc., Lee Memorial Health System and a grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.”
Atilus‘ Solutions
After speaking to the Horizon Council Taskforce and other community leaders in the Southwest Florida Community, to fully understand their needs and goals, we came up with the following solutions:
- A new portal that will help connect young area professionals to the free resources that are available to them
- A new user-friendly design that will engage young area professionals
- Optimized website
- Content Management Systems, making it easy for the local YP Groups to manage and update if needed