Goodwill Industries of Central Florida invests in employees by covering the costs of college tuition or vocational certification.

Two out of five college students drop out of school for financial reasons. With this and other reasons in mind, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida (GICF) recently announced a prepaid tuition program that will cover the cost of college or vocational school for its employees.

All part- and full-time GICF employees with at least 90 days of continuous employment are eligible to have 100% of their tuition, books, and other fees covered in advance, rather than being reimbursed after the fact. Those who are interested in the program will be paired with a Prosperity Planner – a Goodwill team member who specializes in financial and career goal strategies – to help develop an individualized action plan and provide one-on-one coaching.

Other eligibility requirements for employees include:
• Enrolling at a Florida-state public college/university, accredited technical college, or trade school
• Maintaining a passing grade of “C” or its equivalent

“We want our employees to be trained to be successful at their jobs – and we want their jobs to help them accomplish the goals they desire in life,” said Ed Durkee, President, and CEO at Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. “We believe that the cost of education should not stand in the way of those aspirations, so we intend to provide employees with the financial pathway to achieve a degree or skilled trade.”


The new pre-paid tuition program embodies Goodwill’s mission of “building lives that work,” and – as an addition to a generous, best-in-class benefits package – it serves as an incentive to attract new employees. Currently, GICF employs more than 1,200 individuals across Orange, Osceola, Lake, Brevard, Seminole, and Volusia counties and has job openings in various departments including retail, warehouse, transportation, HR, and IT.


Anyone interested in working at Goodwill should fill out an application at www.GoodwillCFL.org and monitor the organization’s Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages for announcements about upcoming hiring events.