Topic: Workforce
5 Reasons Why Florida Is the Best Place for Business
Enterprise Florida President and CEO Jamal Sowell shared insight on why Florida is the best state for business with Entrepreneur magazine earlier this month.
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Where your business is physically located can be the determining factor for whether you have access to the skills, facilities, and other vital resources you need to thrive. As it turns out, one of the best places for businesses to start or relocate is Florida.
When you think of Florida, you might think of warm weather, a vibrant culture, and beautiful beaches. The Sunshine State has all of that and more. According to Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship, Florida had the highest rate of new entrepreneurs among all states in 2019, and a startup early survival rate of nearly 78 percent.
“All of those factors add up to a mix of business and lifestyle that really can’t be found in any other state,” says Jamal Sowell, President and CEO of Enterprise Florida and Florida’s Secretary of Commerce. Here, Sowell shares the top five reasons Florida is the best place for business.
1. State leadership
Florida’s Governor and Legislature support innovative public policy to encourage research and development of new products, Sowell says. That includes things like creating legal options for testing unmanned vehicles, simplifying access to certifications and professional licensing, and enabling the testing of new fintech products without the usual, prohibitive regulations.
“It’s small, incremental innovations that are making Florida a hot commodity right now,” he says.
2. Low tax structure and business climate
Florida has no personal income tax, a 5.5 percent corporate tax rate, and no payroll taxes. That can be a game changer for a business that’s just starting up or an established business that’s looking to leave a high-tax state.
“Enterprise Florida fields calls from across the country and the world every day of the week right now — and those calls are from businesses looking to relocate here,” Sowell says.
3. Workforce and talent attraction
Florida’s highly regarded public university system has been ranked the best in the nation and is “well-positioned to offer a trained workforce right now,” Sowell says.
Home to the nation’s third largest workforce — one that is culturally and linguistically diverse — Florida’s labor force is also more affordable than other leading high-tech states, thanks to a favorable tax structure and lower business costs.
4. Infrastructure
Florida’s infrastructure is an asset that can’t be overlooked. The state is home to more than 130 public-use airports and 20 commercial airports. This wealth of airports has “given Florida the edge we have in the aviation and aerospace manufacture and maintenance industries,” Sowell says.
Additionally, Florida’s network of 15 deep-water seaports support nearly 900,000 jobs across the state and contribute $117.6 billion to the economy each year. “These jobs and the economic impact are critical to the state, but also at local and regional levels,” Sowell says.
5. Quality of life
What really sets Florida apart from other states, Sowell says, is that it is “the ideal place” to work and live. Besides the beautiful weather, Florida’s cost of living is below that of other states with similar economic growth and in-migration rates. State analysts recently reported that Florida is expected to see its population increase by an average of more than 303,000 residents a year.
In other words, it’s a desirable and affordable place to live — and do business. “Add to that a myriad of cultural amenities, world-class theme parks, and sporting events and you have a clear recipe for a well-rounded and rewarding lifestyle,” Sowell says.
Find out more about how you can find a future for your business in Florida. Visit EnterpriseFlorida.com.
JAXUSA Partnership, State Colleges Launch Northeast Florida Fintech Initiative
With more than 60,000 people working in financial services in Northeast Florida with significant growth in financial technology opportunity, there is a necessary drive toward developing a pipeline of skilled fintech talent to feed into local and state businesses in the field. Yesterday, JAXUSA Partnership, Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College officially launched the Northeast Florida Fintech Initiative, a directive of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ made earlier this year.
The $3.6 million grant awarded to the two colleges and local financial services companies will create a training program to develop the highly skilled workers needed for the growing fintech sector. Tuesday’s announcement focused on the next step of the process: the development of curriculum, employment and business recruitment program to be powered a business and industry leadership team (BILT) of fintech companies that will help identify the skills, competencies and credentials that employees need to excel in these jobs.
“As the industry continues to mature, further developing finance and tech talent will be top-of-mind for companies in Jacksonville and our region is primed to be at the forefront of creating future fintech talent,” JAXUSA President Aundra Wallace said.
Some strategies toward developing the talent pipeline through this program include creating two new fintech certificates, developing a fintech support technician boot camp academy fast-track program, paid scholarships and adding fintech instruction to existing courses. Plans also include simulation labs and classroom space for students that can also be used by the industry for training and events.
The initiative is planned to be in operation for the fall 2021 term.
Corporate Partnerships Pave the Way for Curriculum in Region’s Higher Education
As the needs of the modern workforce are ever evolving, the higher education campuses across the Jacksonville region continue to partner with companies and provide unique curriculum and training programs, highlighted recently by Jacksonville University’s (JU) partnership on two major training initiatives to help meet the area’s demand for talent.
SkillStorm, a technology-training firm that recently relocated their headquarters to Jacksonville, is working with JU to provide tailored training programs for employers throughout the region. SkillStorm’s customized approach provides area employers with a unique opportunity to retain local talent and build an extensive pipeline of technology talent. The partnership helps close the tech skills gap, enabling college graduates and veterans to gain the skills and experience needed to access high-paying, in-demand careers while providing commercial and federal organizations with talent to support critical technology initiatives, all major components for JAXUSA’s Earn Up program.
This partnership will add more than 3,000 technology professionals into the workforce over the next three years, half of which will undergo training at JU’s downtown campus before being placed with organizations in the region or nationwide.
“Jacksonville continues to be recognized as an emerging tech city and the impressive addition of new and expanding tech companies proves that fact,” said Aundra Wallace, president of JAXUSA Partnership. “As the tech industry continues to mature in our region, we have an even greater credence to attract and retain these companies and develop skilled talent to make them successful.”
In addition to the program with SkillStorm, JU is also working with Jacksonville-based Availity, the nation’s largest real-time health information network, to provide a pathway for nurse practitioners (NPs) to close the primary care gap. The program established the Availity Nurse Practitioners Scholars Fund with a $100,000 donation from Availity to the university.
Through this program, qualified NPs at JU will earn continuing education credits for obtaining a license for independent practice, under a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year. Increasing the number of NPs practicing independently will help area residents receive needed acute or chronic condition care sooner, potentially preventing a much more costly emergency department visit or hospitalization.
More and more companies are working with school districts and institutes of higher learning to establish curriculum that meets their needs for future generations of workforce. These recent announcements from JU add to others in the region including programs at Florida State College of Jacksonville and University of North Florida geared towards tailored curriculum and the roll out specialized programs to best equip students entering into the region’s IT and fintech sectors, announced earlier this year.
St. Johns County will deliver more than 100 affordable housing units by 2022
Several affordable housing projects planned by St. Johns County have quietly been progressing in recent months. And between two of the three complexes, residents could see more than 100 units of low-to-moderate income units ready for occupancy by 2022.
A project planned for State Road 207 and another in Hastings make use of more than $30 million the county received in federal disaster relief funds following Hurricane Matthew in 2016. County officials were able to fit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant grant under the heading of storm-related improvements as both projects will include
hurricane shelter space.
One development, tentatively named San Marcos Heights, is slated for construction at 127 Adair Rd., along the north side of S.R. 207, not far from the intersection at Kings Estate Road.
The County has allocated $15 million toward the total estimated cost of $20.7 million; the balance will be paid by the developer, and in the end it will encompass 132 multi-family units on 15 acres of land.
According to the terms set down by county officials, a minimum of 51% of those units must meet HUD’s guidelines for iow-moderate Income, which will mean between $400 to $900 in monthly rent, depending on square footage, according to Joy Andrews, deputy county administrator for St. Johns County.
Andrews, who is leading the county’s effort to increase affordable housing, said the Planning and Zoning Agency recently voted to recommend rezoning the site to Planned Unit Development. Once final approvals are in place, construction is expected to begin soon after, with an anticipated completion date of the end of 2022.
The other project that will take advantage of county-received disaster relief funds is planned for the intersection of East Essex Road and Beaman Avenue in Hastings. The complex would include 80 multifamily rental units, with half of them at low-to-moderate rate and the other half at market value.
The county will cover about $15 million of the $23 million total cost, with the developer picking up the rest of the tab. Turnstone Development Corporation was selected as the development partner, and Andrews said she expected the County to finalize the contract within days.
The proposed project includes walking trails, landscaping and amenities such as laundry facilities and a social and family services center.
Construction is expected to begin in April 2021, with residential occupancy by November 2022.
For years, Home Again St. Johns, a nonprofit helping connect the county’s “economically homeless” to resources, has sought a way to add transitional housing to its site at 1850 S.R. 207.
Plans are in the works to finally make that happen, according to Andrews.
The Board of County Commissioners will review a land swap agreement for consideration at its Oct. 20 meeting. The deal involves the trade of the 13-plus acres owned by the local Salvation Army on which Home Again currently operates a drop-in center.
Andrews said the property has already been rezoned to allow for use as an affordable housing complex to serve disadvantaged and indigent members of the local population.
The Salvation Army has agreed to sell their property at S.R. 207 to the County for $1.15 million, plus the County-owned parcel located at 1425 Old Dixie Highway for a total value of $1.7 million. Additional funding will come from the County’s affordable housing trust fund.
Details about how the complex will be run— including whether Home Again will continue to be a presence at the site — are still being worked out, according to Andrews.
When asked who the target demographic for these county-planned affordable housing units was, Andrews said, depending on the monthly rental rates, tenants might include displaced elderly, young adults starting out, or struggling families.
“With unemployment rates up due to COVID, it could be a lot of people,” Andrews added. While attempts to bridge any of the gap in an economic disparity of housing options in the county are admirable to Bill Lazar, the director of the St. Johns Housing Partnership is also realistic.
“What’s ‘affordable’ for some, is not for some of our working class here,” Lazar said. That’s because even rental units that are 50% of the county’s median income are still out of reach for many, and in part that is due to the impact fees developers have to pay to get projects off the ground and then recoup in rental rates passed on to tenants, Lazar said.
If employers, especially those in the service industry, cannot start paying their staff more in wages they will be hard pressed to fill certain skilled positions because those employees will not want to commute out of county if they cannot afford to live in St. Johns.
Lazar also said that if rents continue to remain high, those who want to save up for their first home will not be able to.
By Colleen Michele Jones, St. Augustine Record, Sept. 26, 2020
Synergy Technologies to Add 300 New Jobs in Jacksonville Expansion
Global IT consulting firm, Synergy Technologies announced its plans to make a major expansion in Jacksonville, adding 300 new jobs in downtown Jacksonville. The company provides a broad range of information technology and outsourcing services to companies in a variety of sectors across the world.
Synergy Technologies also designs and develops software for a variety of different businesses, including health care, transportation and financial services companies.
“Jacksonville is becoming a hotbed for tech talent and this is the right place for us to invest,” said James Higbe, Synergy Technologies’ Chief Strategy Officer.
Further enhancing the region’s innovation ecosystem is a significant focus for Jacksonville, evidenced by recent news of homegrown IT company Forcura’s expansion of 115 jobs, Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s broadened use of autonomous vehicles and future innovation space and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ and local business’ commitment to developing tech talent.
Additionally, Synergy’s leadership is committed to improving the communities it serves and making a difference. For example, in June, the company launched Project Wingman, connecting displaced workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic to video conferencing tips, interviewing advice and resume preparation skills to prepare them for job opportunities.
“Synergy is part of the innovative culture and ecosystem we’re building here and their work on Project Wingman is proof they are working to improve the entire community,” said JAXUSA Partnership President Aundra Wallace.
The Wall Street Journal’s “Power of Place” Features Jacksonville’s Growing Fintech Scene
What makes the power of place important to a growing business? In Florida, particularly Jacksonville, the most important factors of talent, facility, cost/profitability and quality of life have been found for many businesses expanding their operations.
WSJ.com, in partnership with Enterprise Florida, recently featured the Jacksonville region’s rapidly growing fintech industry in their initiative, “The Power of Place,” highlighting Jacksonville-based FIS’ expansion and new global headquarters and SS&C Technologies’ increased investment of 200 new jobs in the city. The Jacksonville fintech spotlight includes video and written content featuring FIS Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Ellyn Rafferty and SS&C Technologies SVP of Advisory Client Experience Steve Leivent who discuss the aspects that lead to their expansion decisions in the market.
Robust talent and an academic pipeline to local universities were key reasons for both companies’ expansion efforts in the region, coupled with a commitment by the state to develop the talent development program, the Northeast Florida Fintech Initiative. This $3.6 million program, announced by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in early 2020, will create curriculum and technical certificate programs at Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College.
Other factors for expansion include the region’s high quality of life, low cost of living, growing financial service industry and strong partnership with city and state officials.
Watch and read more at WSJ.com’s “The Power of Place” microsite.
UNF and Region’s Hospitals Launch Initiative to Increase Health Care Professional Pipeline
The highly qualified talent pool in the Jacksonville region will continue to grow with a recent announcement from the University of North Florida (UNF). UNF’s plans for an expanded health care platform are getting $6 million in funding from the state of Florida to create the UNF MedNexus Program, a comprehensive, university-based medical and health care facility. The facility is the first of its kind in the nation to address the anticipated shortfall of health care professionals.
MedNexus connects health care providers with university students, faculty and researchers with the goal to become an area leader and catalyst in preparing high-quality health care professionals in Northeast Florida in an innovative way. With health care jobs expected to account for 23 percent of the state’s growth between 2016 and 2024, these types of programs are imperative to keep up with demands on the regional talent pool.
UNF MedNexus plans to partner with many health care systems throughout the area including: Brooks Rehabilitation, AdventHealth of Palm Coast, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Hospital, Ascension St. Vincent’s, Baptist Health, University of Florida Health and Flagler Hospital. As part of UNF MedNexus, the university will build a health care simulation and medical technology innovation labs in Jacksonville, with a satellite campus at AdventHealth in Flagler County. The first cohort will begin in January 2021 at the Palm Coast location.
In addition to providing this opportunity to the UNF community, the MedNexus program will partner with regional state colleges of Florida State College at Jacksonville, St. Johns River State College and Daytona State College and work with high schools to provide opportunities for additional growth throughout the area to further bolster the talent pool. The partnerships will help to enhance the opportunity for students across the region to gain the access, training and experience necessary to seek career opportunities in health care.
Health care opportunities remain on the rise with a need for a constant workforce pipeline. Leaders in the health care community, like UNF and those partnering with them on the MedNexus project, will work to continue providing the curriculum and excellent care for the Greater Jacksonville community while creating new jobs throughout the region.
HR and Talent Development Executive Joins JAXUSA Partnership as VP, Elevate Women
In the United States, despite recent gains, women are underrepresented in leadership roles—both in business and politics, impacting women’s career trajectories, earnings and economic security across their lifespan. Research has shown that increasing gender diversity in corporate leadership is not only good for women but is also strongly correlated with higher returns and profitability.
To tackle this national disparity on the local level and contribute to talent development and corporate success in Northeast Florida, JAXUSA Partnership has hired human resources executive Angela Timberlake to serve as its vice president, elevate women – a new leadership role designed to ensure female representation in Northeast Florida leadership. In this role, Angela will develop and lead strategies to increase the number and percentage of women in C-suite roles, on corporate boards and in political office in the region.
Angela has worked in several key leadership roles with Acosta Sales and Marketing for more than a decade, including vice president of talent development and effectiveness. In this role, she was a member of the company’s senior leadership team and she governed, developed and executed talent development and retention strategies. Timberlake joins JAXUSA after starting her own business as chief empowerment officer and founder of Brilliant Leadership Group, an executive coaching and development firm and providing talent consulting with Right Management Florida & The Partnering Group.
Republican National Convention Showcases Jacksonville’s “Open For Business” Mentality
Preparations are underway in the Jacksonville region for the 2020 Republican National Convention. Jacksonville was selected to host the celebratory aspects of the convention, highlighted by President Donald Trump’s acceptance of the party’s nomination in Jacksonville’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The convention is estimated to have an economic impact of $100 million, but it will show value to the region long after the convention is gone. Tens of thousands of people from across the country will not only have the opportunity to experience Northeast Florida’s quality of life, business-friendly environment and talent-rich workforce but see the Jacksonville region as a viable destination for business growth and expansion.
The RNC mentioned Jacksonville’s strong interest in hosting the convention and willingness to support an event of this scale as key determinants in their selection process. Jacksonville was the first city to host a major sporting event since the start of the pandemic – UFC 249 in May – which brought to the forefront the region’s ability to move quickly and support high impact events.
With a seven-county region and an infrastructure able to support the influx of visitors, Jacksonville is well suited to play host to one of the key events on this year’s political calendar. To date, city officials have secured more than 10,000 hotel rooms across the Jacksonville metropolitan area and are coordinating with lodging, event and entertainment properties throughout Northeast Florida.
Even with the influx of people to the region for the event, Jacksonville is prepared to provide a safe environment for both visitors and convention participants. As one of the first areas in the country to open back up safely, Jacksonville is well on pace in its return to normal.
The selection of Jacksonville as a host city for the Republican National Convention shows that Jacksonville is open for business and dedicated to helping organizations of all shapes and sizes move forward.