Anyone who has run a business knows that there are obstacles to growth. Some examples include finding the right talent for your workforce, managing permitting challenges during facility expansion, and finding a new location to meet customer demand for a new product or service.
What if you had a long-term relationship with a trusted advisor who could connect you to workforce development and training resources, help you interact with government agencies, and bring all parties to the negotiating table with a facility expansion or merger?
This is exactly what Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. does. (EDC) through our well-established Business Program. We offer a strong network and cutting-edge approach to helping Manatee County businesses grow, add jobs, and reinvest in our community. While we have a robust outreach program hiring companies from across the country and abroad, we know that established companies are responsible for up to 70% of job growth.
We cultivate strong relationships with C-level decision makers in Manatee County based companies, connecting them to the resources and services they need to compete globally with their product or service. Through in-depth consulting and intelligence gathering, we measure, evaluate, and develop strategies to increase the competitiveness of businesses based in Manatee County. We leverage the talents and experience of our EDC team and broad partnerships in the region, state and beyond.
In addition to serving the needs of businesses based in Manatee County, we are creating initiatives to address community-wide issues that impact business. There are two issues of concern to companies related to the workforce in the region: developing a pool of talent to fill skilled and in-demand positions and providing housing for the workforce.
On the housing front, in collaboration with Mark Fingergrove of One Stop Housing, we are looking to design a public/private partnership to develop a workforce housing community. We analyze more than 500 survey responses from employers to help us better understand the type of housing and inclusive services employees need and want. Whilst these are still early days, we are excited by the enthusiastic engagement from employers and look forward to creating a sustainable housing solution for the workforce.
In terms of the talent pipeline, it’s no surprise to anyone that we have more jobs than workers to fill. One of the challenges we have identified is that young people are not aware of the variety of career paths that exist in our society. why is that? We think the message and delivery method simply don’t work. We recognize that the next generation workforce responds best to next generation technologies. Enter virtual reality.
The Center for Educational Capacity Development is partnering with CareerSource Suncoast, Boys and Girls Clubs of Manatee County, and Palmetto Youth Center in a pilot program that uses virtual reality to help inform and create awareness about different career paths that young people should consider. Virtual reality has the potential to push the boundaries of on-the-job training. Connecting young people with this technology is another way the center understands and anticipates the needs of our region by identifying innovative ways to address challenges in our society.
If your growing business could benefit from our expertise, please contact us through our website at BradentonAreaEDC.com. And for useful business intelligence as 2023 approaches, please join us for the Economic Outlook Breakfast with economist Jerry D. Parrish, Ph.D., on Jan. 19. You can register online through our website.
Sharon Hellstrom is President and CEO of Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp.BradentonAreaEDC.com). She can be contacted at info@bradentonareaedc.com or 941-803-9036.