FOUR STATEWIDE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WORKFORCE ORGANIZATIONS PARTNER TO SUPPORT FLORIDA'S EXISTING BUSINESSES

- Florida Business Insights to Address Business Community Issues, Survey Existing Florida Businesses -

(Please see Florida Business Insights for further information, Invitation to Participate [pdf, 43K], Q & A [pdf, 12K] and Pilot Project Application [MS Word, 592K].)

ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 13, 2004) - Recognizing that the majority of new jobs in Florida are created by existing businesses, the Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI), Enterprise Florida (EFI), the Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC) and Workforce Florida, Inc. (WFI) today signed an agreement to partner on a Florida Business Insights, pilot program aimed at addressing the needs of Florida's existing businesses.

With the involvement of local economic development organizations and regional workforce boards, and capitalizing on the skills, expertise and programs of each partner, the partnership plans to develop a pilot program to build support for and develop a comprehensive database of existing Florida businesses. The pilot program, which will be implemented in 2005, will address the needs of existing Florida businesses in up to 20 counties across the state to demonstrate the advantages of coordinated state and local efforts. Following a broadcast invitation, counties will be selected in order to achieve the proper mix of different economies and geographies for a valid study.

According to AWI Director Susan Pareigis, "Florida Business Insights will provide a consistent inventory of business characteristics and issues to assist Economic Development in more effectively serving the needs of Florida businesses. This business survey will also help to promote workforce services to a broader spectrum of employers."

"In Florida, about 70 percent of all new jobs are created by existing business," said EFI President and CEO Darrell Kelley. "Because our state's economic prosperity depends on the strength and vitality of the existing business community, Enterprise Florida and our partners have pledged our support for them through this partnership and survey initiative."

"The economic engine of Florida is driven by retaining and expanding our existing businesses. Business Insights will be an invaluable tool in this effort, giving us current statewide comparative data," said FEDC Chairman Mary Jane Stanley, CEcD. "We will be better able to identify industry needs and trends, making it easier to coordinate solutions by all the partners in this endeavor."

As stated by Curtis Austin, WFI President and CEO, "Direct feedback from our existing business community will help us ensure that Florida's workforce programs and services are relevant and responsive to the needs of businesses, now and in the future. This partnership is evidence of our efforts to collaborate effectively on ways to better support Florida businesses."

Through the partnership, a steering committee comprised of representatives of each organization will competitively select a common survey instrument to gather comprehensive information about Florida businesses and the support they need to thrive and grow. With its statewide application, the survey offers economic development and workforce system leaders a low-cost way to test the value of using comparative data to identify key issues facing Florida's business community. The statewide business information will be made available to local organizations at no extra investment.

As the pilot program is implemented, the partners will promote its value to Florida's business community. Partners also will be engaged in actively monitoring and troubleshooting elements of the survey and overall program. A decision about statewide implementation of the program will be based on the partners' thorough evaluation at the end of the year.

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The Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI) is the state's lead workforce agency and directly administers the state's Labor Market Statistics unit, Unemployment Compensation and various workforce development programs. The agency also serves as the fiscal and administrative agent for the Florida Partnership for School Readiness.

Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida's business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the State of Florida. Headquartered in Orlando, EFI's mission is to create and retain quality jobs and increase economic opportunities for Floridians by supporting strong and growing businesses and positioning Florida as a globally competitive business location. In pursuit of its mission, EFI works closely with a statewide network of economic development partners and is funded both by the State.

The Florida Economic Development Council, Inc. (FEDC) is a not-for-profit association of more than 500 professional economic developers and related industry representatives working as a unified voice to advance economic development in Florida. The FEDC focuses on enhancing the professionalism of its members through education, interaction and the exchange of information with business, government and other appropriate organizations.

Workforce Florida, Inc. (WFI) is the state's chief workforce policy organization and principal architect in the efforts to meet the current and future workforce needs and challenges of Florida's businesses and citizens. WFI is a proud partner, along with AWI, in Employ Florida - the state's affiliate network of 24 business-led regional workforce boards and almost 100 one-stop centers that provide workforce services and resources throughout Florida.

An equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. All voice telephone numbers on this web site may be reached by persons using TTY/TDD equipment via the Florida Relay Service at 711.