John Flanagan is the President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CareerSource Tampa Bay. As CEO of the local workforce board, he works closely with businesses, government, and educational entities to find workforce solutions for the more than 1.4 million Hillsborough County residents and businesses.

John proudly graduated from Leadership Tampa Bay in July 2021.  “I am so thrilled to say I was part of Leadership Tampa Bay and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this program,” said CareerSource Tampa Bay CEO John Flanagan.  “It would have taken me years to have met the leaders, businesses, and officials that I did in one year participating in Tampa Bay’s regional leadership program.  I have learned so much about this wonderful community, this gave me a tremendous appreciation for the entire Tampa Bay community.”

In the first year as CEO, John launched a youth summer jobs program, dubbed Summer Job Connection (SJC) which placed 560 youth into paid work experience positions with 90 Hillsborough County Employers.

In 2020, The SJC program pivoted to a virtual career exploration model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that serviced 496 youth ranging between the ages of 16-24 years old.

During the summer of 2021, CSTB assisted with the support of 112 local employers filled more than 900 positions for young adults to work in various industries. In 2021 CSTB received 2,460 applications for the summer jobs program. The breakdown of employers who participated in 2021 included 78 for-profit businesses, 33 non-profits, and 1 governmental agency. The program was rebranded under the name Tampa Bay Summer Hires in 2021.

Tampa Bay Summer Hires plans on serving up to 800 youth in 2023.  Since the implementation of our inaugural year in 2019, CSTB has served more than 2,500 youth, with 239 Hillsborough County employers participating in the program.

For more information about the program go to www.TampaBaySummerHires.com  

During the Covid -19 Pandemic, John worked with the CSTB Board of Directors and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners to create the R³ – Rapid Response and Recovery Program. The program provided citizens and businesses with badly needed assistance, including:

• $14.5 million in training and direct placement opportunities
• 168 Hillsborough County employers
• 1,788 job seekers who were adversely impacted by Covid -19
• More than 800 job seekers received occupational skills training
• 690 job seekers enrolled in work-based training
• 1,131 people accessed financial assistance while in the program

John serves Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s Workforce Advisory Committee as part of the T3 initiative and serves as a trustee on the U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council. John also sits on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council and is a member of the Community Impact Committee of United Way Suncoast.

John is an active member of the National Association of Workforce Boards.

Prior to his role at CareerSource Tampa Bay, Mr. Flanagan was previously the Executive Director of the Bucks County Workforce Development Board, Pennsylvania serving a population of approximately 630,000 people in the Philadelphia, Metropolitan Statistical area. He was a key player in regional initiatives with multiple Workforce Development Boards in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that provided integrated center operations and Career Pathway initiatives for a region of more than 6 million people.

John earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Administration from Gannon University.

He has more than 14 years of experience in workforce development, both within and outside of the public workforce system. He has held Director positions in Colorado, and in Northwest Pennsylvania as Director of Title I programs for a 6-county region.

Mr. Flanagan is happily married for more than 12 years to his wife, Emily. They have a young son, Jack. The family are avid outdoor enthusiasts.

CareerSource Tampa Bay’s President & CEO John Flanagan sat down with the host of The Law and Relevancy to talk about CareerSource Tampa Bay’s impact on the community.

Click on this link to listen to the podcast.    Go to our podcast page for more podcasts and to learn more about CareerSource Tampa Bay.

Follow John on Twitter by clicking the icon below.

 

(Updated 3/20/2023)