have announced plans to relocate or expand in the county, looking to hire nearly 15,000 new workers. While many of these future employees will not necessarily be hired by high-tech companies, a preponderance – almost half – will be. “It’s been a targeted industry for us now going back more than a decade, just tech jobs in general. We have been slowly building this community, and now we have a fairly established technology ecosystem here,” says James Kohnstamm, former executive vice president of the Beacon Council, the job of which is to recruit and retain employers. And even workers in other industries need to be adept in the use of new technologies. All of which begs the question: Where will these workers come from? Unlike Silicon Valley, Greater Miami has not had the same sort of high-tech labor pool to draw from. And without these workers, the new corporate landscape may be unsustainable. “Our concern is more in terms of once they’re here, how do we meet their needs? How do we connect them to the community? And how do we keep them here? Because as easily as they got here, they can just as easily leave,” says Alfred Sanchez, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. And while the chamber has committees devoted to education and workforce development, Sanchez would be the first to say that we need more programs We’re a community college choice so we’re based on “to buttress and support the initiatives that the community, and we’re thinking about what skills are are going on.” needed by companies when they’re looking for talent. The city’s response is a collective call to arms. Miami’s academic community, public ANTONIO DELGADO, MIAMI DADE COLLEGE’S VICE PRESIDENT institutions, private training companies, and OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS tech firms are rising to the occasion with a broad array of initiatives to create a qualified labor pool to fill the ranks of high-tech (and the grant to three academic institutions – Lavernia, a senior partner at Lab22c, a non-tech) firms streaming to the city, as well Miami Dade College, Florida International Miami consulting agency that connects as those needed by new startups. University, and Florida Memorial University companies, funding sources, entrepreneurs, and public institutions to grow Miami’s – to develop industry-led tech training. INITIATING A RESPONSE The Miami Tech Works grant was apinnovation ecosystem. To meet the new demand, interaction and plied for by Antonio Delgado, Miami Dade The second phase, says Lavernia, has cooperation between academic institutions, College’s Vice President of Innovation and been to bring industry and the commuprivate companies, and the public sector Technology Partnerships, and it launched in nity together to formulate plans for each are needed. Already, area universities are the same month Kaseya made its announce- group. Employers have met monthly with amping up their curriculum, while corpoment. Its program is being carried out in nonprofit organizations, academia, and rations are paying private companies to three phases. government representatives to discuss pilot train workers to fill the gap until new grads Phase one created a Miami Tech Talent programs. These programs will provide the appeared on the scene. Coalition to determine how Miami could framework for any company to train, find, One leading organization that is condevelop its tech sector sustainably. After and keep tech talent in Miami; phase three necting academia with the private and public surveying over 300 employers, the coalition will implement them. sectors is Miami Tech Works, created last created four groups: the small business The coalition is currently between year with a $10 million grant from the Good group, the tech skills gap group, the emerg- phases two and three, with only the small Jobs Challenge, funded by President Biden’s ing tech talent group, and the inclusive tech business pilot program launched. It created Economic Development Administration talent group. The assignment to oversee the a micro-internship initiative where students (EDA). Miami Tech Works is distributing execution of these groups went to Caryn from the three funded universities can gain 60
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