Building a Future, One Opportunity at a Time
“I just needed a chance to get started,” Owens Jeune said.
As a young man, he faced housing instability and personal challenges that made it difficult to see what came next. That began to change when a friend connected him with Handy, a Florida-based nonprofit supporting local youth through skill and career development.
Not long after, Owens stepped into something new. In March 2023, he joined Progress Residential in Miami as an Apprentice through the Workforce Development program, beginning a path into the skilled trades.
“I didn’t know everything yet,” he said. “But I was ready to learn.”
The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on experience, pairing apprentices with mentors and real-world work. It is designed to build not just technical skills, but confidence, communication, and a career.
For Owens, the impact was immediate. He built his skills daily, asking questions, taking direction, and staying consistent. That effort did not go unnoticed. He now works as a Service Technician I, continuing his professional development.
“Owens is great. I wish I had ten of him,” his supervisor Paul Fernandez shared. “He’s engaged, he follows through, and he’s always looking to improve. As he keeps building his technical skills, he’s going to be exceptional.”
His goals reach beyond the job itself. Owens continues to support his mother.
“That’s what keeps me going,” he said. “I want to build something stable for my family.”
Stories like Owens’ reflect a broader reality. Workforce development creates opportunity at an individual level, while also helping address a growing national need. Across the country, demand for skilled trades continues to rise, and the pipeline of trained workers has struggled to keep pace.
Programs like this are designed to do both. They open doors for people building their careers, while strengthening the workforce that communities rely on every day.
“It’s more than just learning a trade,” Owens said. “It’s having a stable future.” And for residents, that investment shows up in the homes they rely on every day, maintained by people who are not only trained, but deeply committed to the work.
