Sunshine Sentinel

Florida Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Aug. 25.

As Florida’s economy continues to grow and diversify, talent is key. Florida currently has more jobs looking for people than people looking for jobs. Solving our future talent needs now is the right path. In Florida, we have 545,200 open jobs looking for people and only 530,000 Floridians actively looking for jobs. Future economic development and diversification depends on matching the right skills with the right job opportunities. Targeting workforce development to regional skills gaps and high wage potential in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford region— consisting of Lake, Osceola, Orange, and Seminole Counties— the Florida Chamber Foundation has unveiled its Orlando Metro Skills Report, which completes and evaluates the balance between skillset supply and demand in the Orlando metro market.

“Employers in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford region need to create approximately 448,201 net new jobs by 2030 to prepare for the region’s future growth and opportunity,” said Florida Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mark Wilson. “As the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Florida 2030 Blueprint works to grow Florida from the 15th largest to the 10th largest economy in the world by 2030, Florida’s workforce needs to continue evolving to meet the needs of the future of Florida and its job creators.”

In June, the Florida Chamber Foundation unveiled the Florida Workforce Needs Study – a first-of-its-kind state analysis addressing skills gaps and opportunities that exist in the Florida workplace, providing a comprehensive look at the skills Floridians need in order to have upward or even lateral mobility in over-skilled occupations, and potentially transition to in-demand occupations that have more demand than supply as well as higher wages. The Orlando Metro Skills Report is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)- specific breakout report of the Florida Workforce Needs Study created so Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford workers and stakeholders can understand the competencies and skills that align with the active and unmet demand of the region’s job creators.

“It is essential for Florida’s education system to understand and teach toward the in-demand and emerging skillsets of Florida’s economy,” said Florida Department of Education’s Henry Mack, Chancellor for Workforce Education. “The Florida Chamber Foundation’s Florida Workforce Needs Study helps us understand the competencies and skills that align with Florida’s job creators, which helps in the creation of educational opportunities to best prepare Floridians for higher, life and family sustaining wages. This matters for everyone’s future economic and professional wellbeing.”

Four of the in-demand career areas demonstrating significant supply shortages in comparison to demand in the Orlando metro include Healthcare, Education/Curation/Library Services, Business/Finance, and IT/Math. Additionally, the Orlando Metro Skills Report Identifies:

• Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Supply and Demand by Career Area, with Median Posted Salary
• Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Top Competency Gaps in Target Career Areas
• Key Hard-to-Find Skills in Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, by Career Area

“Skill demand varies by region and, even within regions, can differ by industry and metro. Skill research from the Florida Chamber Foundation and the Orlando Economic Partnership’s Foundation for Orlando’s Future should be shared with and validated by local employers and higher education providers who represent the frontlines of talent and workforce development in our community,” said Tim Giuliani, President and CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership. “Our region’s competitiveness depends on a future-ready workforce, and we need to ensure our talent has or is developing the right in-demand skillsets that prepare them for high-paying, skill-focused jobs of the future.”

The healthcare skill competency has the largest skills gap between estimated supply and estimated demand in the Orlando metro with a gap of -61,259, followed by education, curation, and library services with a gap of -46,981, and then business and finance with a gap of -37,853.

When it comes to skills competencies in the Orlando metro with more estimated supply than estimated demand, hospitality, recreation, and personal services leads the region with a gap of 114,881, followed by sales and customer service with a gap of 61,177 and then transportation and warehousing with a gap of 42,903.

The Florida Chamber Foundation thanks the local Chambers of Commerce and key industry trade association partners statewide and in the Orlando metro for engaging area employers in its important, future-oriented research.

“CareerSource Florida is honored to join with the Florida Chamber Foundation and other vital talent pipeline partners to ensure at least 80 percent of Florida’s workforce has essential employability skills by 2030 to support career pathway opportunities and help families and communities prosper,” said CareerSource Florida President and CEO Michelle Dennard. “We are grateful for the innovative leadership of our local workforce development board partners in this region who connect Floridians with the latest in education and workforce training to meet the skills needs of so many employers right now and into the constantly evolving future, a vital component of achieving that goal.”

Original source can be found here.