The Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center officially opened in Mulberry with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by community leaders, supporters and families. The $3 million, state-funded facility expands workforce and career training opportunities for local teens.
Community members, staff and supporters gather outside the Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County campus in Mulberry for the grand opening of the Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. | Courtesy The Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County
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The Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County opened the Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 4:30 p.m. The $3 million project, located in Mulberry and funded by the state through the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), aims to prepare young people for skilled trades, certifications and workforce-ready careers. 

“We are excited to open Polk County’s first dedicated space where teens can gather after school to gain real-world skills, explore career pathways, and start building plans for a successful future,” said Stephanie Hoskins, board chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Polk County.

Designed to engage teens

Club leaders say the center was designed to better engage teens, who are less likely to participate in traditional after-school programs.

“Our members are mostly elementary school-aged children,” said Steve Giordano, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County. “To bring teens in, we needed to separate them from younger kids and create programs that are interesting, fun and genuinely beneficial to them.”

Unlike traditional after-school programs, the center is structured around credentialing and entrepreneurship. 

“We aim to have these teens certified, or at least on the road to certification,” Giordano added. “We’ll also create storefront-style learning spaces, such as a barber or cosmetology, and launch a catering program out of our industrial kitchen.”

Programming will roll out in phases:

“Our Director of Teen Initiatives, Dustin Hooker, will spend the first year visiting businesses and building a program designed to attract teens by early 2026,” Giordano said. 

The new Mulberry-based center features open, flexible spaces designed to engage teens through workforce training, leadership development and hands-on learning opportunities.
A large common area inside the Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center provides space for teen programming, collaboration and community activities. | Courtesy The Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County

About the center

Giordano said the location was intentional, allowing students to access career pathways and job training opportunities without leaving their community.

“Mulberry has a diverse range of local businesses and employers, and we hope to create a stronger pipeline to those opportunities for teens right here,” Giordano remarked.

The center is named for Brian Lamar Brady, whose life reflects the mission of workforce readiness.

“Raised by a single mother, he succeeded through determination, curiosity, and a belief that hard work creates opportunity,” Giordano remarked. “He didn’t wait for doors to open — he built skills, sought out learning, and created his own path forward.”

Learning space with tables and chairs inside the Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center
A learning space inside the Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center is designed to support group instruction, workshops and career-focused programming for teens. | Courtesy The Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County

Why it matters

Giordano said the center builds on the organization’s existing youth mentorship efforts by tying them more directly to workforce outcomes. 

“The children we mentor are able to positively impact their future — and the community also benefits through less crime, better graduation rates, lower teen pregnancy and better tax revenue from a population we help stay employed,” remarked Giordano. 

The organization said the facility is designed for the “Toolbelt Generation,” as Gen Z students increasingly seek trade certifications and technical careers instead of traditional four-year pathways. 

The center opens at a time when Florida is investing heavily in career and technical education. On Sept. 30, 2025, FLDOE Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutas awarded $40 million to expand workforce programs throughout the state.

“Florida’s workforce is stronger than ever because we are investing directly in students and the programs that prepare them for success,” Kamoutsas said.

What’s next

If successful, leaders say the center could reshape Polk County’s workforce over the next decade.

Giordano said that by the next decade the center will deliver a steady pipeline of certified, job-ready candidates across skilled trades, culinary, logistics, tech and business. “We’re not just filling jobs, we’re resetting the hope trajectory for Polk County youth,” he said. “We want to change the mindset from ‘maybe someday’ to ‘I start Monday.’”

Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.

LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.

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Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.

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