Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/297333
florida.HIGH.TECH 2014 51 "Finding, hiring, training and retaining a skilled workforce is different today than ever before," said Stuart Rogel, president of the Tampa Bay Partnership. When the Tampa-Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation approached his organization with the idea to analyze the gap between employer needs and employee skills, those groups partnered with Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, WorkNet Pinellas, Pinellas County Economic Development and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council to conduct an IT Gap Analysis of the industry, which has spawned a similar effort in the Metro Orlando area focused on an even broader set of industries. "There was a valley of death … a chasm between an individual who has a degree, certificate or some specific training and the business that needs to employ people with that training," said Rogel. "That 'something else' can be technology-specific experience, hands-on knowledge, or perhaps understanding of an organization's task. But many businesses are not well- equipped to bring in people (particularly entry level talent) and fill that gap. That's particularly true of small to medium-sized business." Underway now in the Tampa Bay region are a menu of employer programs and efforts by economic and workforce development organizations to help educators more closely match their offerings to skill set demands. Internships, graduate internships and enhancements to classroom training that prepare students for organizational culture are all in play. Elsewhere CareerSource Central Florida, the Metro Orlando region's workforce agency, has partnered with the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and others on a study aimed at identifying and closing the skills gap for employers and job seekers across all industry sectors. "We're trying to look at the region across as many sectors as possible to understand the critical skills employers need, the training component and how to bring job seekers up to speed," said CareerSource President Pam Nabors. For both studies, what they call "the enterprise employee" has become the focus … that employee who applies for a job with skills and experience in hand. "Employers want people trained and experienced. You can train people, but you can't infuse the experience," explained Nabors. Hence, across the region the emphasis is on developing programs that provide hands-on workplace experience as soon as possible. That can include traditional internships for students, post-graduate internships, job shadowing programs and more. "We have to become creative," said Rogel. "Many of the employers we work with are small to medium- sized companies that don't have the infrastructure to accommodate that kind of training." AS HIGH-WAGE, HIGH-VALUE CAREERS DEPEND MORE THAN EVER ON STEM KNOWLEDGE, ADVANCED EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZED TRAINING, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT HAS TAKEN ON NEW MEANING AND FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR LEADERS FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, WORKFORCE AGENCIES AND EDUCATION ARE BREAKING NEW GROUND TO ASSURE THAT WHEN EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS CONNECT BOTH ARE READY.