Building the best workforce: the business sector gains as Workforce Florida focuses on building...

Before kitchen and bath cabinet-maker Merillat Industries opened a 245,000-square-foot plant in Ocala in 2000, executives knew they would need 350 trained employees for five production lines.

So executives turned to Workforce Florida Inc., the state's chief workforce policy organization. Using a $383,000 grant from Workforce Florida, Merillat instituted a four-week training program as part of a two-year production ramp-up.

"The state of Florida was with us every step of the way," says Carla DeFrank, Merillat's human resources director. "They helped develop o