Worknet tampa bay it workforce analysis pdf

Tampa Bay Information Technology
Workforce Analysis
Hillsborough and Pinellas Findings

Tampa Bay IT Workforce Analysis Published: Page 0
10/11/2012

Tampa Bay IT Workforce Analysis – Hillsborough and Pinellas County

Table of Contents

Project Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Economic Outlook ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Background Research ................................................................................................................................... 7
INTERVIEWS ...............................................................................................................................................................9
SURVEYS ....................................................................................................................................................................9
FOCUS GROUPS ........................................................................................................................................................ 10
Summary of Findings .................................................................................................................................. 11
Focus Area 1: Real World Training for High Demand Careers.................................................................. 13
CURRENT SKILLS GAP.............................................................................................................................................. 14
MINIMUM LEVELS OF EDUCATION REQUIRED FOR COMPETENCY ............................................................................ 16
SOFT SKILLS ............................................................................................................................................................ 16
TRAINING ................................................................................................................................................................. 16
ENTRY LEVEL SKILLS .............................................................................................................................................. 17
BUSINESS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS ..................................................................................................................... 18
Focus Area 2: Streamlining Internship Opportunities for Tomorrow’s Workforce.................................... 19
Focus Area 3: Innovative Career Development, Recruitment and Retention Practices.............................. 21
RECRUITMENT: ........................................................................................................................................................ 21
EMPLOYMENT CULTURE .......................................................................................................................................... 21
MOBILE WORKERS ................................................................................................................................................... 21
SALARIES: ................................................................................................................................................................ 21
RECRUITMENT OF MILITARY VETERANS .................................................................................................................. 22
Focus Area 4: Regional Marketing and External Recruiting ...................................................................... 23
INNOVATION: ........................................................................................................................................................... 24
Focus Area 5: Implementation & Coordination .......................................................................................... 25
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT CAN BRIDGE THE GAP ................................................................................................ 27
TAMPA BAY IT WORKFORCE ANALYSIS TEAM........................................................................................................ 27
FUNDING: ................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Appendix 1: Summary of Recommendations ............................................................................................. 28
Appendix 2: Gartner’s 2012 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle............................................................. 32

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Appendix 3: Information Technology Competency Model ........................................................................ 33


Appendix 4 .................................................................................................................................................. 34
Appendix 5 -Focus Group Notes ................................................................................................................ 82
STUDENT FOCUS GROUP .......................................................................................................................................... 82
CEO/CIO IT FOCUS GROUP..................................................................................................................................... 85
IT HR PROFESSIONALS ............................................................................................................................................ 87
Bibliography: .............................................................................................................................................. 90

List of Figures

Figure 1 - IT Workforce Leadership Team ................................................................................................... 3
Figure 2 - Employment Projections .............................................................................................................. 4
Figure 3 - National Unemployment Rate for IT occupations ....................................................................... 5
Figure 4 - Computer & Information Science Degrees Conferred ................................................................. 6
Figure 5 - National studies related to IT workforce needs ............................................................................ 7
Figure 6 - Regional and state studies referencing workforce development .................................................. 7
Figure 7 - STEM Job Growth ....................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 8 – Companies/Institutions Interviewed ............................................................................................ 9
Figure 9 - Industries Represented ................................................................................................................. 9
Figure 10- Focus Group Participants .......................................................................................................... 11
Figure 11 - Minimum Education................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 12 - Important skills for new hires arranged by most frequency cited ............................................ 17
Figure 13 - Salaries by Occupation ............................................................................................................. 21
Figure 14 -Tampa Bay Innovation Resources............................................................................................. 24
Figure 15: Grow Tampa Bay Tech Leadership ........................................................................................... 25

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Introduction
The region’s leading economic development organizations received anecdotal evidence that local
employers were facing challenges trying to hire employees for Information Technology (IT) occupations.
A quick review of national news sources indicated that this was a common problem throughout the
country. To investigate further, Tampa Bay area organizations joined together to produce the Tampa Bay
IT Workforce Analysis, to assess the extent of the challenges and to develop solutions to increase the IT
talent pool. In the course of conducting the study’s survey, interviews and focus groups, it became clear
that there is indeed a gap between the demand and the supply of specific IT professions in the local
market. On the supply side, the area has an abundance of learning opportunities for both new and lifelong
learners. The Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are located in the Tampa Bay region 1, and home to
numerous businesses that house back offices of skilled IT professionals as well high tech IT service firms
needing to staff positions with skilled IT talent. The challenge became finding a way to link specific
employer needs to specific educational training and recruitment solutions.

Figure 1 - IT Workforce Leadership Team

Fairfield Index, Inc. found that
national and international workforce
agencies recognized the increasingly
“loud call” to compete through tighter
alignment of talent and employer
demands while taking an integrated
approach to economic development. 2
Over the next 20 years companies will
locate where they have access to top-
quality talent. This creates an
environment that requires evolutionary
strategies in which today’s investment
builds an ever-increasing, constantly
adapting future talent supply chain.

A taskforce was organized by the
Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation with the recognition that while this was a
national issue, the solutions must be regional. The taskforce included regional economic development
organizations, workforce agencies and industry associations (See Figure 1). The Tampa Bay Workforce
Alliance provided the critical resources to support the project, funding two professional staff positions.

Based on research conducted in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and represented in this document, the
IT Workforce Task Force has released a set of recommendations designed to effectively and efficiently
impact the existing workforce gap within these two communities. The study also included interviews with
and surveys of companies in the six surrounding counties that make up the greater Tampa Bay region; this
research is ongoing and findings will be released under a separate report.

1
The Tampa Bay region includes the counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sarasota and Manatee.
2
Florida’s Demand-Driven Talent Supply Chain System: National and International Assessment, Farifield Index, Inc. prepared for Workforce

Page 3
Florida, Inc. February 29, 2012, page 4.


The recommendations in this report strengthen the relationships between business, education, and the
talent pool.

Project Objectives
This project was launched to identify and quantify any gap between industry demands and the existing
talent supply; and then, based on interviews and focus groups, create actionable steps to close these gaps.
The ultimate goal is to create a pipeline of IT talent for Tampa Bay area companies.

The project included extensive conversations with businesses, education, workforce and economic
development leaders. This report is a reflection of a wide range of input, perspectives and proposed
solutions. It is intended to initiate activities that will close the workforce gap by increasing the efficiency
of the IT talent supply chain.

Economic Outlook
According to an economic impact analysis conducted by the Florida Department of Economic
Opportunity using IMPLAN economic modeling software, each new IT job also creates 1.58 indirect jobs
in the Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The two-county area is estimated to receive nearly $16 billion
in GDP from IT. 3 In addition, IT job growth is expected to outpace total occupation job growth for the
period from 2011 through 2019, adding over 4,000 new jobs during that period (See Figure 2). Due to
quality concerns and the increased importance of collaboration, jobs that had previously been moved
offshore are now returning to the United States.

Hillsborough and Pinellas counties have a slightly higher concentration of IT workers than the national
concentration, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has the highest
concentration of IT workers of Florida’s major metropolitan areas (See Location Quotient in Appendix 4,
page 81).

Figure 2 - Employment Projections
Hillsborough-Pinellas Counties Employment Percent
SOC Code Occupation Title 2011 2019 Change
11.3021 Computer and Information Systems Managers 1,519 1,717 13.0%
15.1021 Computer Programmers 3,761 3,646 -3.1%
15.1031 Computer Software Engineers, Applications 3,932 4,783 21.6%
15.1032 Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software 1,946 2,343 20.4%
15.1041 Computer Support Specialists 4,370 4,868 11.4%
15.1051 Computer Systems Analysts 5,098 5,857 14.9%
15.1061 Database Administrators 1,103 1,306 18.4%
15.1071 Network and Computer Systems Administrators 2,180 2,526 15.9%
15.1081 Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts 3,091 4,214 36.3%
15.1099 Computer Specialists, All Other 792 937 18.3%
Total IT Occupations 27,792 32,197 15.8%
Total All Occupations 1,081,661 1,228,720 13.6%

Source: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Employment Projections 2011-2019

There have been recent changes in the way that IT talent chooses to locate, which add to the complexity
of understanding IT workforce patterns.

Page 4
3
MIG, Inc., IMPLAN System. (2012, July 2011). IT Economic Impact Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Hudson, WI.


• It is the nature of the IT industry to have occasional layoffs between projects. Because of this,
skilled IT workers choose to live where there is a concentration of IT workers and companies,
because it is easier for them to find a new job if they are laid off.

• Because IT is rapidly changing and there is a shortage of talent nationally, many IT workers have
elected to become free agents and work as independent contractors, moving as feasible to
increasingly higher paid positions or contracts.

• Many IT employers are allowing top talent to work from home, potentially increasing the ease of
job mobility of these top employees who are no longer tied to a physical location. This
development could ease the path for recruitment of these employees and drive higher salaries.

• The lower costs of airline fares combined with increasing IT wages are resulting in some IT
workers commuting from a home city to another city during the week to earn greater wages.

From an occupational perspective, IT unemployment rates are among the lowest in the country, leading to
an increase in salaries and a greater prerogative on the part of prospective workers to determine where
and for whom they will work (See Figure 3).

Figure 3 - National Unemployment Rate for IT occupations

Occupations Employed Unemployed Unemployment Rate
Computer and mathematical
3,760,000 140,000 3.6
occupations
Computer systems analysts 505,000 15,000 2.9

Computer programmers 469,000 18,000 3.7
Software developers, applications
1,036,000 26,000 2.5
and systems software
Web developers 178,000 6,000 3.0

Computer support specialists 487,000 43,000 8.2

Database administrators 89,000 5,000 5.7
Network and computer systems
229,000 11,000 4.7
administrators
Computer network architects 152,000 1,000 0.8

Computer occupations, all other 338,000 13,000 3.6

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Q2 2012

The unemployment rates for specific occupations are only calculated on a national level. The numbers
presented in Figure 3 are from the second quarter of 2012. For the purpose of perspective, the total
unemployment rate for all job categories in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA was 9.0% as of
June 2012, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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There are resources in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties to train workers. Hillsborough Community
College had the largest technology enrollment in the area in fall of 2011 with 1,677 students, according to
the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2012 Book of Lists. St. Petersburg College had the second highest
technology enrollment with 1,262 students enrolled. (See Appendix 4, Page 78 for complete details) Both
of these colleges, as well as Saint Leo University, also train significant numbers of returning military
personnel to enter the IT workforce.

The University of South Florida and the University of Tampa also confer bachelor’s and master’s
technology degrees. Their students are eagerly recruited by local IT employers.

There were 398 Computer and Information Science degrees conferred in 2009 in the Tampa Bay Region.
Many of these students were recruited by local companies, some of which have relationships with local
educational institutions and are active in providing business case studies to the students. These
relationships were limited to mostly larger companies; our research showed that small to midsize
companies lack the resources to establish and maintain these relationships. It is important to note that
some companies have found the Computer and Information Science degree workforce to be extremely
mobile within the state. Accordingly, they have developed relationships with universities in other areas of
the state to increase their recruitment pools.

Figure 4 - Computer & Information Science Degrees Conferred

Tampa Bay Region State of Florida

Total Degrees 398 3,515

Associate’s Degrees 118 1,036

Bachelor’s Degrees 280 2,005

Master’s Degrees N/A 424

Sources: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2009 and State of Florida Board of Governors
*Tampa Bay Region is defined as the counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sarasota and Manatee

Along with technical programs, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties’ training providers offer a variety of
technical certifications. For a complete list of certifications offered, see Appendix 4, Page 80. Training
programs were used primarily by employers to help keep their employees’ skill sets up to date. However,
it should be noted that when making a hiring decision, experience was valued over certifications.

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Background Research
Across the United States, communities have faced similar IT talent supply situations, and comparable
studies were conducted to evaluate the workforce gap and create a local strategy.

Throughout the development of our Figure 5 - National studies related to IT workforce needs
analysis, Columbus, Ohio’s “The • 2004
Skills Gap in Central Ohio IT Charleston, SC • Reaching the Next Level: A Regional Economic Development
Strategic Plan for the Charleston Region
Talent” was used as a guide.
Contributors 4 to Central Ohio’s Iowa
• 2005
• Iowa’s Information Technology Strategic Road Map
analysis also provided valuable
insights and feedback to Tampa • 2007
Bay’s IT Workforce Analysis. Northeast Ohio • Northeast Ohio Information Technology Workforce Report

Regionally, economic development • 2011
Arizona • Arizona’s Technology Workforce: Issues, Opportunities and
organizations and workforce boards Competitive Pressures

had begun to explore IT hiring • 2011
challenges. Each effort created a Columbus, Ohio • The Skills Gap in Central Ohio IT Talent: Assessment,
Opportunity and Recommendations
series of recommendations that are
consistent with the recommendations in this report.

The recommendations of the regional plans included policy changes, as well as short and long term
activities to develop the talent pool Figure 6 - Regional and state studies referencing workforce development
(See Figures 5 and 6).
• Taking the Next Steps: Business and Educational Summit
WorkNet Pinellas Strategic Score Card
WorkNet Pinellas has been
monitoring the issue since 2007 STEMflorida • Five-Year Strategic Plan: STEM Leadership for Florida

through the publication of the
Business and Educational Summit Workforce Florida Inc. • 2012 Vision & Strategies, Florida Workforce System

Strategic Report Card. 5 • Closing the Talent Gap: A Business Perspective, What Florida
Florida Council of 100 Needs from the Talent Supply Chain
The Tampa Bay Partnership has • Regional Business Plan for Economic Development in the
published a Regional Business Plan Tampa Bay Partnership Tampa Bay Region
6
for Economic Development to • Roadmap to Florida’s Future: 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for
Enterprise Florida Inc. Economic Development
build understanding of regional
economic strengths and Partnership for 21st Century • Framework for 21st Century Learning
opportunities and to craft a plan that Skills

will lead to job creation and a greater economic resiliency through diversification. The plan specifically
speaks to larger workforce issues with specific initiatives:

• Initiative #14: Expand partnerships and improve communication between industry and the workforce
development system
• Initiative #15: Increase coordination, collaboration, and information sharing among the regions’ post-
secondary institutions

4
Maureen Metcalf, Maureen Metcalf and Associates, Tim Hayes, TechColumbus, and Bill Lafayette, Regionomics.
5
Report Card, WorkNet Pinellas, Business and Education Summit, September 2011

Page 7
6
A Regional Business Plan for Economic Development in the Tampa Bay Region, Executive Summary, May 2011


Enterprise Florida has published reports 7 that present statewide initiatives to create innovation driven
growth, furthering of STEM education, and efforts that “converge around the shared vision of establishing
Florida as a leader in the global innovation economy.”

STEM Florida policies focus on increasing the STEM 8 courses in K-12. If successfully implemented,
STEM efforts will sustain the near term recommendations outlined in this report. STEM jobs are
projected to increase, requiring technical skills and a demand for continuous learning.

Figure 7 - STEM Job Growth

Florida Annual Job Growth Rates 2011-2019

STEM 2.16%

Total, STEM and Non-STEM 1.62%

Non-STEM 1.56%

Source: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics Center, Forecast to 2019, released October 2011

Elementary and secondary students are introduced to and offered opportunities to engage in STEM
careers through curriculum focused on defined career pathways through Career and Technical Education
Centers and Centers of Excellence in the Tampa Bay area. The benefits realized by students directly relate
to the expectations of business leaders that participated in the IT Workforce Analysis.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) can benefit students directly by providing earning advantages
before and after graduation. It can benefit them indirectly by increasing engagement, retention, and
persistence and by directing them to postsecondary education and pursuit of lifelong learning. CTE
programs motivate students to get involved in their learning by engaging them in problem-solving
activities that construct knowledge; by providing hands-on activities that enable them to apply CTE
knowledge; bringing students and adults together in a setting of collaborative learning; and offering
opportunities for students to interact with community members, potential employers, teachers and other
students who share similar career/vocational interests. 9

7
Roadmap to Florida’s Future, 2012-2015 Strategic Plan for Economic Development, Roadmap to Florida’s Future, Page 4. See Bibliography.
8
STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) http://www.stemflorida.net/

Page 8
9
The Benefits of Career and Technical Education. Trends and Issues Alert. Author: Brown, Bettina


The analysis was completed by professional staff under the direction of the IT Workforce Analysis
Taskforce. The the study was modeled after the Columbus Ohio study, changing the stratification by size
of companies surveyed to include small, medium and large companies. The number of focus groups was
expanded.

Interviews
The analysis began with over 60 interviews with employers and educators to understand which IT skills
and job functions are important to Tampa Bay employers and map relationships with educational
programs. The companies selected were based on size and type of business. The interviews were
confidential seeking input on the questions to ask on the survey, clarify trends, discover new issues and
caoncerns, and to socialize solutions. The relationship between education and business demonstrated a
deep respect for each other, but a need to clarify opportunities to change the current trend. Some of the
groups interviewed are listed below:

Figure 8 – Companies/Institutions Interviewed

Surveys
The surveys were developed based on the interviews with businesses. The job functions and skills that
companies and institutions reported as being difficult to fill were included in the survey. The questions
and job functions included were vetted 10 for ordering and wording by several business persons, educators,
and researchers. Individual questions were
Figure 9 - Industries Represented
strategically examined for thoroughness
and content, such as how far into the future Industry Representation
Response
Percent
the survey should ask for job function
Technical Services (Computer Systems Design
growth. Many of the survey methods used Services, Custom Computer Programming Services, 57%
Other Computer Related Services)
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics were
Health Care 13%
incorporated into the questions.
Finance and Insurance 10%

The survey was distributed through Educational Services 7%
targeted emails sent directly to over 140 Public Administration (Government) 6%
employers of IT workers in Hillsborough Transportation and Warehousing 4%
and Pinellas counties. Survey partners Manufacturing 3%

10
Guy Hagen, Tucker Hall, Bill Dobson, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Michael Pearce, University of South Florida, Kristin

Page 9
Dailey, Ph.D, WorkNet Pinellas, Courtney Manning, Fairfield Index, Bill Lafayette, Regionomics.


staff also emailed surveys to IT clients and reached a wider audience through bulk email newsletters.
There was a website dedicated to the survey that explained the analysis and provided a link to the survey
(http://www.tampabayitworkforcesurvey.org).

The goal was to survey 50 companies representing 20% of the IT workforce. However, surveys were
completed by 64 area companies representing 26% (or 7,261 employees) of the IT workforce in
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The survey
development process sought to include a variety of RESPONSES BY COMPANY SIZE*
industries with IT services or back office operations, as Small (1- 100) = 29 (45%)
Medium (101 -500) = 16 (25%)
well as a stratified response set based on company size
Large (over 500) = 19 (30%)
and county. Total = 64
*Total number of employees
The distribution of IT workers in our job skills question
was an equivalent to the BLS’s IT distribution between
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Hillsborough County represented 63% and Pinellas County
represented 37% of the IT worker distribution in our job skills sample and according to the BLS’s total IT
worker count. Several large companies responded to the survey but due to company policy were unable to
respond to the number of IT workers by county. Using other published sources, we estimated these
companies had an additional 2,000 jobs, or a total workforce represented in the survey of 7,261 or 26.1%.

Figure 9 A

Skills All
BLS IT
Skill Question All Questions
BLS IT Workforce
County Question Respondents Questions Respondents
Workforce by
Respondents by Respondents by
Percentages
Percentages Percentages

Hillsborough 17,448 62.8% 2,302 62.3% 5,306 73.1%

Pinellas 10,344 37.2% 1,395 37.7% 1,955 26.9%

Total 27,792 100% 3,697 100% 7,261 100%

Focus Groups

Focus groups were held to confirm and clarify the survey responses – Students, HR/Hiring Managers,
CEO/CIO, and Education. Solutions were refined based on input from the participants. The sessions were
closed, and all individual comments were held in confidence and are reported without direct attribution.
Many of the focus group participants completed the survey. Some of the focus group participants were
part of the 60 interviews conducted. The comments and ideas expressed have been incorporated into the
recommendations.

Page 10


Figure 10- Focus Group Participants

Students HR/Hiring Managers CEO/CIO Education

•University of South •SAIC •Absolute Mobile •University of South
Florida •Edge Datagistics Solutions Florida
•University of •SharePoint •Panther •University of
Tampa Resources International, LLC Tampa
•Hillsborough •New Horizons •Tribridge •Hillsborough
Community College •Rita Technologies •Transitions Optical Community College
•Chase •Haneke Design •St. Petersburg
PaymentTech •CSDRS, LLC College
•DTCC •WellCare
•Community •University of South
Solutions of Florida
America

Summary of Findings
The following section is a summary of the findings resulting from the interviews, surveys, and focus
groups that took place between June and August 2012. The data analysis and the accompanying
recommendations are organized by five focus areas:

1. Real-world training for high demand jobs
2. Streamlining internships for tomorrow’s workforce
3. Innovative career development, recruitment, and retention practices
4. Regional marketing and external recruiting
5. Implementation and coordination

Our analysis found overall that the IT labor demand will continue to expand, and that there are specific
high demand skills unmet in this region. We also know that the landscape will continue to change as new
technologies are introduced and new markets open to area businesses. Summary of the study findings:

• Immediate and profound gaps exist for specific skills: agile development concepts, Java
programmers, .NET programmers, cloud computing engineers, sales engineers, ERP 11 , security, and
SharePoint.

• Employers cited the need for liberal arts education that is associated with a four year degree and that
credential trumped the type of degree for some jobs, particularly for programmers. Dual majors/
minors that are marketable to employers allow students, “…to pursue a passion yet get a job upon
graduation.” Students graduating with technical skills and experience are the most desired by
employers.

11
Enterprise resource planning- the management of all the information and resources involved in a company’s operations by means of an integrated
computer system http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ERP?q=erp

Page 11


• Large companies were satisfied with the graduate population and had positive relationships with area
colleges for both interns and fulltime employees, but feel strongly that the study recommendations are
needed to secure the future talent supply for both replacement of existing workers.

• Future growth areas reported as priorities include business analytics, Big Data, desktop support,
computer and software engineers, and security.

• Many companies reported having difficulty finding IT professionals with 3- 5 years of experience
working in an enterprise environment with the ability to be productive from the first day.

• Businesses are requiring employees to do more, have multiple skills, and engage in lifelong learning.

• Small to mid-size companies that did not have formal new hire training programs reported challenges
finding entry level candidates with the necessary technical knowledge.

• Businesses are interested in recruiting military veterans for careers in technology.

• Students need to have more real world technical skills when entering the job market.

• Students have limited knowledge of the local technology job market.

• Participating businesses, educational institutions and students are all willing and interested in working
together.

• Companies were interviewed and surveys in the six surrounding counties that make up the greater
Tampa Bay region; this research is ongoing and findings will be released under separate report.

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Focus Area 1: Real World Training for High Demand Careers
Employers reported a need to fill positions requiring specific technical skills. Students reported the desire
to practice the technical skills they learn and to have access to the most current and beta versions of new
technologies. Small and mid-size employers reported the need for graduates to have more technical
skills.

Technology is changing rapidly, and employers are seeking workers with multiple skill sets. There have
been changes in required skills and position profiles as a result of the increased efficiency in operations,
specifically:

• Virtualization – downsizing of infrastructure

• Cloud Services – outsourcing of services

• Collaborative software – management
moves to SME from IT
Figure 10a
• Mobile – work anywhere; information
everywhere

These changes created a new paradigm focusing
on rapidly changing skills that are not yet Position: Senior SharePoint Developer/Architect
institutionalized in the training and education Seeking skilled Microsoft SharePoint Architects proficient in
fields. Job functions are becoming more SharePoint infrastructure planning, Configuration and
Development and Customization. Successful candidates must
streamlined, creating one job where two had be skilled in architecting SharePoint applications using
previously existed. See the recent position customization and configuration techniques Experience in
developing business solutions based on ADO.NET and
description posted on Dice (Figure 10a). ASP.NET. Practical use of the Unified Modeling Language
(UML), Design Patterns, and other architectural principals
The following comment from an area business
owner provides an actual example of the issues.

“Startup and emerging companies need folks that can roll up all of these skills into smaller teams. As the
cost to buy or subscribe to applications become lower and lower you cannot afford to hire a Java
Developer, a Database administrator, a database developer, a system administrator, a web developer, a
user interface developer, a Windows developer, a PHP developer, an HTML developer, a system
architect, and a client server developer. Organizations will continue to move toward more nimble and
cost effective solutions as technologies evolve. They are shifting away from keeping multiple in house IT
folks that can only program in one language and they will stop buying $1M solutions that can become
outdated quickly and require costly maintenance or forced upgrades.”
Jana Wiggins, Owner, DocuVantage www.docuvantage.com

The Gartner Hype cycle is an industry standard for identifying the next generation technology and is a
guidepost for determining what to include in future curriculum and training programs Education and
business should be tracking the trends and begin to plan for training students and professionals. The
Gartner Hype Cycle, appearing in Appendix 2, provides a graphical view of the maturity, adoption and
business application of specific technologies that are heading to market. 12

Page 13
12
Gartner Hype Cycle Methodology, http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hype-cycle.jsp


The Competency Model provides a framework for creating the bridge to defining the skills, or
competencies, that are identified as most commonly contributing to success in workplace. 13 A
competitive business will adapt to changing technologies. Workers must demonstrate that they can adopt
new skills and become lifelong learners. Students must have a plan or pathway to learn and master the
necessary skills to be competitive and valued by the employer. As stated in a recent report: Technical
Assistance Guide for Developing and Using Competency Models,

“Competency models are a resource for both the business and jobseeker customer. They provide a
framework for business and industry to clearly articulate their workforce needs. In addition, they
demonstrate the commonality of the broad knowledge and skills needed in an industry that form the
foundation for the development of career ladders or lattices. Competency models also constitute the basis
on which curriculum developers and training providers ensure that workers have the right skills. They
articulate the essential competencies required for occupational licenses and certifications, the credentials
that ensure that a worker has the necessary skills to be successful at work.” 14

The competency models can be used to:

1. Communicate industry needs
2. Direct career exploration and guidance
3. Develop career paths and ladders
4. Plan workforce programs
5. Evaluate, plan and develop curriculum
6. Provide human resource services to businesses
7. Develop assessments, certifications, and licenses
8. Develop industry models and registered apprenticeships

The model addresses foundational competencies, as well as industry and occupational competencies.
There are 20 different industry models including three that are relevant to the implementation of the IT
Workforce Gap solutions: Information Technology, Advanced Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship (See
Appendix 3).

Current Skills Gap
The survey provided a list of 53 technical skills and asked respondents to identify the number of positions
that were filled or vacant, and positions that they planned to fill over the next 24 months. The survey also
asked for the length of time it was taking to fill vacant positions requiring the identified skills and the
number of positions that remained unfilled from between 60 – 90 days. See Appendix 4, page 38 for the
detailed list of positions 15.

Agile development was the skill in highest demand, and employers anticipate it to be the highest growth
skill over the next 24 months. It is a skill and way of development, rather than a specific job function.

13
Source: Technical Assistance Guide for Developing and Using Competency Models – One Solution for the Workforce Development System,
January 2012, developed by Personnel Decisions Research Institutes, Inc. (PDRI) in 2005 and has been updated by JBS International, Inc.,
Aguirre Division in 2012.
14 Ibid., page 3
15
The numbers are extrapolated to represent the entire population. 3,697 IT workers were accounted for in our sample size. The number of
vacancies and expected growth were then multiplied by 7.517 to adjust the sample to fit the entire population of IT workers, which is 27,792. See

Page 14
Appendix 4, Page 2 for further explanation


Companies are moving away from the SDLC 16 or waterfall method of development and towards the agile
method, because of its speed and flexibility. The agile development skill is not valuable by itself. It must
be combined with other job functions, such as .NET programming or mobile application development.
Prospective employees are of great value to employers if they understand this method and are able to
apply it to a specific job function.

Java programmers, mobile application developers, and application architects were the job functions
in highest demand. All of these job functions appear on national lists as areas where companies face
hiring challenges, but local companies seem to have a specific, immediate need for these job functions. It
is important to note that some of these job functions can be outsourced, but as collaboration and
communication becomes increasingly important, local employers would prefer to have employees located
in the Tampa Bay region. Employers are also able to better monitor their employees’ work by having
them onsite.

.NET programmers and business analysts were the next job functions in high demand. .NET
programmers seem to also be in demand nationally, similar to Java programmers. Business analysts are of
emerging importance, as many management decisions are becoming more math-and analytic-based.
Companies chose business analyst to be the third most in demand job function over the next 24 months,
followed by .NET programmer.
Figure 11: High Demand Skills

Skill sets and 24-Month
Skill or Job Function Desktop support personnel and IT
Vacant Positions Growth
project managers had high expected
Agile Development 385 789
growth potential over the next 24
Java Programmer 235 319
months; however, employers reported
Mobile Applications Development 235 338
that they had minimal difficulty hiring
Application Architecture 195 346
for these positions. Desktop support
.NET Programmer 195 410
personnel seem to be trained quickly
Business Analytics/Data Mining 169 449 and inexpensively. It was reported in
ERP Implementation 124 372 some of the interviews that there are
IT Project Manager 124 346 many Project Management
Data Warehousing 124 201 Professionals (PMP) in Tampa Bay,
Total High Demand Skills 1,787 3,571 possibly a reason that employers
Total All Skills 3,684 8,192 reported minimal difficulty in hiring IT
project managers. Companies also
reported minimal difficulty hiring Windows administrators and software quality assurance personnel.

Security professional and SharePoint Administrator and Developer positions were reported as
difficult to fill during the focus groups and interviews. Cyber security is a rapidly expanding field as
businesses move to the cloud, increasing the risk of data being compromised or lost due to natural
disasters, terrorist attacks or human error. The SharePoint collaboration platform allows people to work
together from any location and provides the essential reporting and analysis capabilities.

Through surveys, focus groups and interviews, businesses reported having the greatest challenges filling
positions requiring 3 – 5 years experience, especially Developer, Architect, and Network Engineer

Page 15
16
SDLC – Software Development Liife Cycle or System Development Life Cycle


positions. These positions require a greater level of training, maturity, industry knowledge, and
experience in an enterprise setting, accompanied with soft skills to be productive from day one. These
jobs are being filled by recruiting talent from outside the area or hiring contractors, otherwise the
positions are left vacant.

Minimum Levels of Education Required for Competency
When considering responses for all job functions, the minimum level of education was overwhelmingly
found to be a bachelor’s degree. Employers are expanding their criteria to include nontraditional IT
degrees such as music and psychology. Music majors bring the ability to perceive patterns and structures
and to consider historical perspectives which are compatible with programming skills. Psychology
graduates are also highly numerate. They are trained to interpret data summaries and to understand
probability statements, and they become familiar with a wide range of statistical procedures and
processes. Psychology graduates are highly literate and familiarized with the techniques of concise
writing within a pre-set format as they write practical Figure 11 - Minimum Education
research reports - a natural fit
for business analytics.
Master's degree Less than a high
While some businesses 3% school diploma
1%
stated they would hire a
person that demonstrated Bachelor's High school
of arts diploma
talent without a degree, the 15%
15%
bachelor’s degree was
Associate's
important for advancement degree
within a company according 15%
to a majority of businesses
Bachelor's of
participating in the study. science
51%
Soft Skills
Each company assesses
candidates for a different
mix of skills and experience
based on its corporate culture. It is no longer enough to be a technical expert, delivering work in an
isolated setting. The most important soft skills reported by survey respondents include problem solving,
analysis skills, critical thinking, decision making and collaboration.

Training
Due to the pace of technological advancement, the need for training is a constant. Many companies will
provide internal training; however, IT professionals are expected to take advantage of the variety of
external options to develop a self-directed pathway to
sharpen technical skills.
96% of businesses provide continued training
Employers reported a willingness to consider a
83% reported using external sources
person seeking employment who has demonstrated 76% provide training to new hires
that they have upgraded their skills continuously.
Several companies suggested that they would be less

Page 16


likely to consider a job seeker who just learned a new technology after many years of working with a
legacy technology, and does not have a history of continuous learning.

There is a known bias by some human resource professionals and hiring managers against hiring the
unemployed. The longer the person is unemployed, the lower the employability score a candidate
received, according to a research study by Geoffrey C. Ho, Margaret Shih and Daniel J. Walters, from the
University of California. 17 They found the length of time out of work was a main factor impacting hiring
decisions.

According to our interviews, corporations have trimmed their training budgets. They have moved
technical training in-house -- changing priorities to internal coaching and mentoring, informal learning
and collaborative activities. They only outsource those training tasks requiring a significant training
investment. While over 83% of our survey respondents reported that their staff obtained training from
external training sources, studies indicate an increase in self funded training. The small to midsize
companies have seen the greatest impact in the decline of training budgets.

Entry Level Skills
Businesses reported that entry level talent was not proficient in applying technical skills and required
additional training before they could begin to be productive. Large and some midsize companies have
formal training programs; small Figure 12 - Important skills for new hires arranged by most frequency cited
companies are seeking new hires
with higher level technical 90.0%

skills. 80.0%

70.0%
Students requested 60.0%

experiential learning 50.0%

opportunities to gain insight 40.0%

30.0%
into technologies taught in the
20.0%
classroom and to explore
10.0%
newer technologies that are 0.0%
not in the classroom.
Community challenges, such
as the Mayor’s Hack-A-Thon
sponsored by the City of
Tampa, 18 can provide opportunities to practice skills by moving learning into areas in which many college
students are comfortable. Students stated that they learned through challenges and hoped to be able to
network with businesses.

Students reported that they did not want to learn legacy technology because it leads to maintenance jobs,
and they prefer seeking new horizons and being challenged with new technologies.

17
Geoffrey C. Ho, Margaret Shih and Daniel J. Walters, “The Psychological Stigma of Unemployment,” 2012
18
Mayor’s Hack-a-thon, 2012, to create apps that make Tampa better in one 48-hour marathon

Page 17
session.http://www.tampagov.net/information_resources/HACKATHON/ideas.asp


Business Education Partnerships

Through out the interviews and focus group discussions it was clear the both education leaders and
business leaders are willing to work together to increase the competencies of the workforce – both
matriculating and skilled workers. Businesses have offered to work with educations to provide:

• Business use cases for use in the classroom, for capstone projects, and for challenges
• Increased structured internships opportunities
• Mentor students with capstone project
• Engage with student groups such as the TBTF student chapters, and other student
associations
• Curriculum design that will incorporate the skills, or competencies, that are identified as
most commonly contributing to success in workplace

Page 18


Focus Area 2: Streamlining Internship Opportunities for Tomorrow’s
Workforce
New hires need to have more real world experiences with technologies, knowledge of enterprise systems,
possess the right mix of academic and workplace competencies, and be proficient in multiple areas.
Students are requesting more internship opportunities to build a portfolio for graduation. Small to midsize
businesses are willing to offer internships but do not have the structure to recruit, develop and manage
internship programs.

Changing technology and turbulent economic Student Focus Group...
“I want an opportunity to practice on the real thing.”
conditions require businesses to balance the
recruitment of a new hire with the demands of the “I don’t have to be paid or get credit; I just want to win and
job and the ability to stay competitive. Students be seen by the companies. They can hire me.”

must acquire more technical skills than those
learned in the classroom. They must be able to demonstrate real world application of skills to future
employers. Activities to gain the skill set include:

• An internship to increase a student’s technical knowledge, while also reinforcing soft skills,
project management and critical thinking skills 19.
• A capstone project based on real world business cases demonstrates project management skills
necessary in the fast paced world. Business involvement can introduce students to future
employers.
• Memberships in professional organizations provide networking opportunities that will develop
students’ soft skills and connect them to businesses for internships and future job opportunities.

Businesses were overwhelmingly interested in having an intern; however, 69% of the businesses
responding did not have a recruiting relationship with
any college. Companies must approach each college in
the area and post an internship opportunity using 65% of businesses offer internships
different interfaces. The process for posting an 91% of interns are paid
opportunity could be different at each school or even
departments within the school. Most companies
reported not having the staff to manage internships, which created a barrier. The option of developing an
internship program was positively received in the CIO/CEO focus group. The HR/Hiring Manager focus
group suggested a need for training regarding best practices and sample guidelines for establishing a
successful internship program.

Students can acquire both technical and soft skills through classroom instruction; however, they must also
be able to practice classroom learned skills in real world situations. Engaging in capstone projects,
internships, and memberships in professional organizations will prepare a student for the world of work.

The technical and soft skills that students bring to the internship experience vary, resulting in
management challenges for the businesses. Throughout the course of this study, businesses were
complimentary of the quality of education in the Tampa Bay area.
19

Page 19
(Grant, Malloy, Murphy, Foremen, & Robinson, 2010)


Several area colleges are offering online credit and non-credit technical training, providing students with
the opportunity to articulate between online (non-credit) and classroom based (credit) courses to increase
student’s technical skills. Recommendations in this study include marketing to students the value of this
training pathway for improving job readiness.

Businesses have offered to work closely with K-12 and post secondary educators, to provide simulated
business cases to allow students to gain experience and boot camp style technical training offered through
colleges and other training companies. The marketing of technical careers to students is achieved through
an important partnership between business and education. By offering career fairs and other experiential
learning opportunities to interest students, more individuals may be enticed to enter this field.

Engagement with professional business organizations offers students opportunities to network and
practice soft skills, specifically professional communication. The Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF)
has offered students memberships and recently expanded student participation by establishing TBTF
chapters on college campuses to encourage connections between students, businesses and faculty.
Students reported being interested in participating and several chapters have already been initiated on
three campuses in the Tampa Bay area, with expansion plans in the near future.

Page 20


Focus Area 3: Innovative Career Development, Recruitment and Retention
Practices
To be competitive in the global market, business productivity requires the continuous acquisition of new
skills that expand industry-wide technical competencies. New skills can be obtained through a variety of
training methods.

Recruitment: Survey respondents reported that online career websites and LinkedIn are the top two
ways they recruit IT employees. Small companies used LinkedIn more than any other recruitment tool, as
opposed to medium and large companies that favor online career websites. While a few companies
reported using scanning software, applicants are savvy and insert search terms in the margins of their
resumes to increase the likelihood of having their qualifications considered.

Employment Culture: Hiring managers and CEOs stated that cultural fit, a relatively new criterion in
human resources, is very important when recruiting new team members. A person’s style, approach and
behavior on the job must be consistent with the values and expectations of the organization. A candidate
might have the right experience, solid qualifications, a relevant work history, and have performed
impressively during the interview process, but the applicant also needs to fit in with the culture.
Collaboration requires the right mix of staff to maintain the desired level of productivity.

Mobile Workers: Over 70% of employers allow staff members to work offsite. However the HR/Hiring
Manager Focus group identified that many companies are building a collaborative work environment that
requires employees to be onsite. In interviews with area recruiters, and as confirmed by HR
professionals, there are approximately 2,500 IT professionals that leave the area during the week for
higher paying positions in other regions. Similarly, many IT professionals in the Tampa Bay area work
remotely for companies located in the Northeast.

Figure 13 - Salaries by Occupation

Salaries: The issue of lower wages for Tampa
Bay IT occupations was cited as a possible reason
that employers were facing challenges in hiring
and retaining talent. The survey did not clarify the
issue since companies generally reported either
paying the same or higher for the high demand
positions.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
MSA wages are somewhat less than the national
wages in five of the nine SOC categories, most
notably for Computer Software Engineers. The
Computer Programmer, which is the most

Page 21
difficult position to fill, BLS, reports the average hourly rate for Tampa Bay is $2 less than the national


average or over $4,000 annually. There is less than a 1% difference in the national average in three
categories in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA that employers do not report difficulty filling.

We did use wage data for Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA from the BLS to ask local companies if
they pay around the average salaries reported for IT occupations in the area. Specifically, we were trying
to understand if the small and midsize companies paid less than the average for the area, which we
hypothesized could be a reason they are facing greater challenges hiring for their IT-based positions. Our
research found that small companies, which are considered to be companies with 100 employees or less,
report that they pay above the average wage for Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software and
Database Administrators. Midsize companies, with greater than 100 employees but less than 500
employees, report that they pay the average wage for all of the main information technology occupations.
Large companies, with greater than 500 employees, report that they pay above the average wage for
Computer and Information Systems Managers and Computer Programmers. Please see Appendix 4, page
63 for detailed data.

Recruitment of Military Veterans: Military veterans have been identified as a source of talent
because of their military training, professionalism, commitment, and ability to work under pressure and
changing conditions. In the Tampa Bay area there are a number of initiatives underway to encourage
military veterans and their spouses to join the local workforce.

Non-commissioned officer training is accepted by some businesses to meet the college requirements for
certain occupations. Several area colleges will award academic credit for military experience on a case
by case basis. The level of training and experience of the officer ranks and non-commissioned officers is
perceived by many businesses as exceptional training for men and women so early in their careers.

Page 22


Focus Area 4: Regional Marketing and External Recruiting
Companies are seeking to hire new staff members with 3-5 years of experience and knowledge of
enterprise level development logic, who require minimal supervision. Marketing the variety of IT career
pathways will increase the breadth of local talent pool. Strengthening the collaborative relationships
between education and business to focus on students’ transitions from school to the workplace could
improve the initial productivity of new hires in the workplace.

Building and promoting a regional identity is the most effective approach for maintaining a competitive
economic landscape. 20 Marketing Tampa Bay as a tech-friendly area has been a point of discussion for
many years. Below are the comments from several focus groups and interviews that illustrate the
feedback regarding the critical need to accelerate those marketing efforts.

• We didn’t understand all that Tampa Bay had to offer until we moved here.
• Young people want excitement. We need to market wakeboarding and use the internet more
strategically.
• I’ve recruited people that have stayed here 20 years. No one knows about how great the area is. I
have an easy time recruiting from the Northeast and Texas and a difficult time recruiting from
California.
• We need a startup company that makes it big. We need to showcase Tampa Bay as an innovation
hub.
• Other communities offer cash prizes to resolve IT business problems. It becomes a marketable
event, and companies fulfill a need.
• Every company is working on its own message, and then including “and we’re in Tampa Bay.”
We need a collective message that we can send out. Too much marketing is being done within the
community. We need the message going out.
• Successful companies have specific messages. We need to follow their examples and come out
with a direct message to the rest of the world.
• No one is driving a message out. There is too much talking and not enough doing. The marketing
that is done is within our community.
• We should be marketing to college students. Too many leave the area, because they don’t know
what we have here.
• You see ads in New York and Chicago that Austin has technology. Tampa needs a presence in
other cities.
• We need to connect FSU and UF to Tampa. We have the major businesses that could take their
students and keep them in Florida.

20

Page 23
Regional Business Plan, Tampa Bay Regional Business Plan

Innovation:

According to Enterprise Florida, competitiveness and prosperity in the 21st century will be based on
technology, knowledge, and innovation. There are many formal, informal and self-organized resources
in the Tampa Bay area dedicated to the development of new technologies and new entrepreneurial
business activities, in the form of organizations, events, user groups and meet-up groups.

Recently, a $2 million grant was recently awarded by the US Department of Commerce to a partnership
between the University of South Florida, the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, and the Tampa Bay Wave to
establish an innovation and incubation hub for technology startups.

Collectively these organizations, events and groups demonstrate the readiness of the region to respond to
formal assistance in building a stronger IT workforce, and will provide an important foundation for the
future economic growth of the Tampa Bay.

Figure 14 -Tampa Bay Innovation Resources

User Groups and
Organizations Events
MeetUps
• Awesome St. Pete • BarCamp • SQL
• Awesome Tampa Bay • Hack-a-thon • BI
• Tampa Bay Technology • TEDx Tampa Bay • SharePoint
Forum • Startup Weekend • Oracle
• Tampa Bay WaVE • Startup Bus • JVM
• Entrepreneur Social Club • ETC
• Tampa Bay Inventors • Tampa Python
Council • TampaDev
• SEI Alliance • Tampa # (C# and .NET)
• Startup Florida • Tampa Web Technology
• Ignite Innovation Center • Central Florida Web
• Gazelle Lab Developers
• USF Connect • Tampa Red Brigade
• Tampa Bay 6/20

Tampa Bay IT Workforce Analysis Page 24


Focus Area 5: Implementation & Coordination
Immediate action is necessary to impact the current talent gap while also planning for future growth. The
solutions recommended by the IT Workforce Gap Taskforce involve strengthening partnership and
coordination between business, education, government, and the talent pool.

The Taskforce has established Grow Tampa Bay Tech which will provide a central point of contact for
the Taskforce partners, to initiate contact with business and education for the coordination and
implementation of the first round of recommendations critical to creating the desired change.

The IT Workforce Taskforce will continue to lead Figure 15: Grow Tampa Bay Tech Leadership

the implementation process through Grow Tampa
Bay Tech with the Tampa Bay Technology Forum
(TBTF) managing the project with a designated
central point of contact. The IT Workforce Gap
Taskforce will provide the necessary oversight of
the implementation process.

The mission of Grow Tampa Bay Tech (GTT) is
to implement the first round of recommendations
generated from the IT Workforce Gap Analysis
project.

The study recommendations (Appendix 1) will be
undertaken by local businesses, educational institutions, governmental and economic development
groups, or a collaboration of partners. The IT Workforce Taskforce will provide oversight to Grow
Tampa Bay Tech. During the first year of the project the following recommendations will be initiated.

1. Real-world training for high demand jobs
a. Create a series of Exploration labs that allow students to practice technical skills
b. Rapidly deploy continuous training in high demand skills
c. Business professionals work alongside educators to define and deliver current technical
skills
2. Streamlining internships for tomorrow’s workforce
a. Develop process to use LinkedIn (LinkedIntern) to connect students to internships in area
businesses
b. Expand internship opportunities
c. Train businesses on best practices for effective internships

3. Innovative career development, recruitment, and retention practices
a. Promote participation of Grow Tampa Bay Tech activities among local user groups and

Page 25
Meet-Up


b. Develop a Talent Satisfaction Index to quantify job/life/career satisfaction related to job
retention
c. Expand recruitment of veterans into IT careers
4. Regional marketing and external recruiting
a. Conduct community challenges i.e. Hack-a-thons, code builds, etc.
b. Introduce TBTF Chapters in area colleges and universities
c. Grow partnerships between businesses and K-12
d. Market area to increase in-migration of IT Talent
e. Train HR/Recruiters to sell the area to external talent

Grow Tampa Bay Tech will monitor progress of the implementation, communicate with Taskforce and
community partners on the progress, and generate commitments from businesses, educational institutions,
governments, and community partners.

Grow Tampa Bay Tech will design a process for measuring and reporting progress made on each
recommendation.

Page 26


Community Involvement Can Bridge the Gap:
Solving the current challenges and closing the gaps will require a combined community-wide effort
between businesses, economic development organizations, colleges and universities, K-12 and
public/private partnerships. If you are interested in participating in leading or sponsoring any of the
activities presented in this study, please contact Heather Kenyon, CEO, and Tampa Bay Technology
Forum at hkenyon@tbtf.org

Tampa Bay IT Workforce Analysis Team

• Rick Homans, CEO Tampa Economic Development Corporation, Chair
• Mike Meidel, Director, Pinellas County Economic Development
• Ed Peachey, CEO, Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance
• Heather Kenyon, CEO, Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF)
• Stuart Rogel, President/CEO, Tampa Bay Partnership
• Randy Berridge, President, Florida High Tech Corridor

Report Prepared by:
• Patricia K. Gehant, M.A., CCIO
• Clay Gambetti, MBA

Research Consultation:
• Guy Hagen, VP Tucker Hall, Strategic Advisor
• Dave Sobush, Tampa Bay Partnership
• Kristin Daily, PhD, WorkNet Pinellas
• Tim Haynes, Tech Columbus Group
• Maureen Metcalf, Metcalf and Associates
• Bill Lafayette, Regionomics
• Steve Kropp and Bill Dobson Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
• Kevin Lloyd and Courtney Manning Fairfield Index, Inc.

Funding:

This report was funded by the Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance. Secondary funding was provided by the
Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, Pinellas
County Economic Development, Tampa Bay Technology Forum, and Tampa Bay Partnership.

Please visit www.TampaBayITWorkforceSurvey.com to download a copy of the Executive Summary and
Full report.

Page 27

Appendix 1: Summary of Recommendations:

Time
CategoryRecommendations Resources Lead
Frame

Real World Training for High Demand Jobs - Employers reported a need to fill positions requiring specific technical skills. Students reported the desire to practice the
technical skills they learn and to have access to the most current and beta versions of new technologies. Small and mid-size employers reported the need for graduates
to have more technical skills.
1) Create Exploration Labs for students to practice new skills learned in the classroom, boot
camps, and online courses. Similar labs exist within specific colleges and focus on technology
taught in the classroom. These labs will cross the boundaries of the individual institutions and Funding/
Short Business Leader
engage student, faculty, and businesses in classroom learning, business use cases, and Coordination
community competitions. Creative Exploration Labs should include in-market and BETA
versions of software and hardware and are intended to be a community wide partnership
between educational institutions and business.
2) Develop technical training programs, such as online and boot camp style opportunities for
current high demand skills; Java, .NET, Agile development, cloud computing engineers, sales Colleges
engineers, CRM and SharePoint. Prepare training in future areas of expansion including Short Coordination TBTF
business analytics, big data, desktop support, computer and software engineers. Boot camp Online
and online training should be supplemented with student-focused seminars to reinforce the Private Educators
skills learned. Market to IT professionals that are seeking updated skills reemployment.
3) IT professionals will coordinate with educators to develop business use cases for high demand TBTF
Medium Coordination
technical courses including boot camp style sessions, classroom coursework, and Exploration Business
Labs. Education

4) Offer quarterly webinars by business experts on new technology to assist faculty and to engage Medium Coordination
TBTF
with vendors regarding the application of the technology in the workplace.

5) Expand recruitment of returning Veterans and provide supplemental technical training. Medium Coordination Business Leader
Increased coordination of career pathways and jobs available. WorkForce Boards
Funding/
6) Participate in Department of Education recognized apprenticeship programs for high demand Long WorkNet Pinellas/
Coordination
jobs. TBWorkForce Alliance

Tampa Bay IT Workforce Analysis Page 28


Time
Frame
21
7) Expand the use of the IT Competency Model, the Framework for 21st Century skills, and
22 Long Coordination
STEM to provide both soft and technical skills for high school and college students to increase Education
readiness to work.
Streamline Internships for Tomorrow’s Workforce – New hires need to have more real world experiences with technologies, knowledge of enterprise systems, possess
the right mix of academic and workplace competencies, and be proficient in multiple areas. Students are requesting more internship opportunities to allow for multiple
internships to build a portfolio for graduation. Small to mid-size business are willing to offer internships but do not have the structure to manage these programs.
8) Encourage use of social networking tools, such as LinkedIn, to advertise opportunities that would Funding/
allow companies to post opportunities, faculty to recommend students, and students to find Short
Coordination TBTF
opportunities. Create a team of students, business owners, and educators to define the
functionality and process of the online solution.
9) Expand internship opportunities at all postsecondary institutions. While internships are offered at
Short Coordination TBTF
local colleges and universities, when students begin to increase participation through marketing
Education
efforts, more opportunities will be needed.
23
10) Increase the capacity of career centers to provide students with career pathways and to be Short Coordination
Education
prepared to compete for internships earlier in their education.

11) Provide training to businesses on best practices for setting up internships. Include discussion with Short Coordination
TBTF
students to provide feedback on the “best” and “worst” internship experiences.

12) Conduct internship fairs to connect students with employers. Motivate students to seek multiple
Short Coordination
internship opportunities throughout their college experience that will expand their knowledge, TBTF
technical skills, and awareness of local businesses.
13) Businesses are requiring employees to have a broader range of leadership and technical skills.
Long Coordination
Motivate students seeking non-technical degrees to seek a double major/minor in the technology Education
field.

21
Framework for 21st Century Learning is a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student
outcomes, blending specific skills, content knowledge, expertise, and literacy. http://www.p21.org/overview.
22
STEM Education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the
development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy (Tsupros, 2009).”
23
Career Pathways is a framework for connecting a series of educational programs with integrated work experience and support services. The goal is to provide
a seamless system of career exploration, preparation, and skills upgrades linked to academic credits & credentials, available with multiple entry and exit points
spanning middle and secondary school, post secondary institutions, adult education, and workplace education. Career Pathways as a Systematic Framework,

Page 29
League for Innovation in Community College, January 2007.


Time
Frame

Innovative Career Development, Recruitment, and Retention Practices: To be competitive in the global market, business productivity requires the continuous
acquisition of new skills that expand industry-wide technical competencies. New skills can be obtained through continuously available skills training and the retraining of
talent with non-technical job experience.
14) Leverage existing or new channels to recruit external IT Talent. Market the numerous
Short Coordination Public/Private
communities of interest that will support the skills development of staff. Examples include: SQL,
Partnership
Oracle SharePoint, JAVA, .NET, and other programming and IT skill areas.

15) Develop a Talent Satisfaction Index that will quantify job/life/career satisfaction and job retention. Medium Coordination Private/Public
Begin to measure why talent remains loyal to the company. Partnership

16) Explore practices to encourage and support talent development and career growth (mentoring, Medium Coordination
Business
lifelong learning, IT leadership training, and apprenticeship programs).

17) Modify degree programs to accommodate students returning for a technical degree but have Long Coordination
Education
already completed non-technical degrees and have job experience.

18) Explore the range of practices that will support healthy collaboration between businesses to foster Long Coordination
TBTF
an innovative community.

Regional Marketing and External Recruiting: Companies are seeking talent with 3-5 years experience and knowledge of enterprise level development, who require little
supervision. Marketing the variety of IT career pathways will increase the local talent pool. The strengthening of relationships between education and business will increase
the success of transition from school to the workforce. Innovation is a catalyst for an expanding the technology community along with engaging students, and
attracting/recruiting an experienced talent.
Funding/
19) Establish relationships with student organizations such as TBTF Student Chapters at colleges Short
Coordination TBTF
and universities in Tampa Bay.

20) Initiate recruiting trips around high demand skills by conducting marketing campaigns to target
cities and by attending convergence events, universities, or virtual events to increase the in-
Short Coordination
migration of IT talent by marketing Tampa Bay nationally. Efforts will be coordinated with EDC EDOs
groups to identity market information and resources. The campaign will use social media and
technology networks.

21) Provide training to HR, recruiters, and career placement professionals to increase knowledge of Funding/
Short
how to market the Tampa Bay area to prospective candidates. Provide talking points and other Coordination EDOs
collateral resources.

Page 30

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