Economic Development
Labor & Workforce
Developing, retaining and recruiting key talent are vital to the Pensacola Bay Area's economic growth. Our world-class workforce is one of the many reasons companies choose to locate here. It’s all about people, and Pensacola’s supply of unmatched employee talent is certainly no accident.
The Pensacola area has the benefit of a three county workforce to use as an asset. Escambia, along with Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties, offers a highly trained workforce of approximately 265,627.
Each year, approximately 5,000 graduates of the local university, two technical institutions, private college and our recognized junior college enter into our potential workforce. Also significant is a highly trained workforce associated with those separated from the military. This consists not only of those who retire here, but those who return after retirement and those families who come to this area with their spouses who are stationed at one of the four primary military bases and support sites in the three county area.
Florida is a Right-to-Work state guaranteeing workers the right to choose or decline union membership. Due to the positive work habits in the area, unionization is very low in the area.
Education / Workforce
The Chamber is dedicated to a strong public school system to educate its children and develop skills for its future workforce. The Chamber’s workforce initiatives are focused to align public education through its career academy programs with the Chamber’s economic development goals. Career Academies are designed to offer hands-on experience and training related to various careers and professions. The academies are designed to work with students to attain industry certifications upon high school graduation, and most often include strong business partnerships.
For more information, contact Bridgette Price at 850.438.4081 ext. 247.
Ford Motor Company Fund "Next Generation Learning Community" Program
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Ford Motor Company Fund selected Northwest Florida (Escambia County and Santa Rosa County) as a Next Generation Learning Community due to its alignment between business, industry and education and because of its efforts to create a "dual county" career academy system based on economic development targets. In August 2007, Escambia and Santa Rosa School Districts were one of only six areas in the United States designated as a “Prospective Level Career Academy Innovation Community” by Ford Motor Company Fund. The next designation is Leadership Level which was awarded on January 27, 2009.The Northwest Florida Next Generation Learning Community recently hosted a training workshop (Ford PAS) for interested teachers in both Escambia and Santa Rosa County and completed a Master Plan for career academy development and expansion. The partners for this initiative include:
Workforce Talent Development, Activities & Information:
http://career.escambia.k12.fl.us/video/NGLC200910/index.asp
Ford Motor Company's Annual Report (PDF page 21)
NGLC Time Line (pdf file size 8.94 MB)
Master Plan 2010 (pdf file size 8.94 MB)
Education/Career Academy Resources: (Click here for Business Partnership Form)
- Escambia County School District’s Workforce Education Department offers 35 academies including pre-engineering, law, health science, game simulation and animation programming, teaching, fire-rescue, e-commerce, design services, culinary arts, Cox Telecommunications, aerospace, agri-science, and Gulf Power Academy. For more information, contact Escambia County School District Workforce Education Director, Lesa Morgan at 850.469.5356.
- Santa Rosa School District’s Workforce Education department established the Building Construction Academy in the 20087-2009 school year. Locklin Tech was the recipient of a WIRED grant from Florida’s Great Northwest, which is part of President Bush’s Competitiveness Agenda, for their Building Construction Academy. For more information contact Cheryl Smith at 850.983.5058.
- The Chamber has a long-standing partnership with West Florida High School of Advanced Technology (WFHS). From its early inception to the day it opened its doors in 2001, the business community has focused its efforts on this “wall to wall” small learning community for excellence! West Florida Tech has achieved an unprecedented “A” State school grade for the past three years! The Academies at West Florida include Aerospace, Cox Telecommunications, Gulf Power Academy, Automotive, Engineering, Professional Services, Health and Human Services and more.
- The Chamber has also supported WFHS’s Advanced Career Experience program (“ACE”). ACE is an opportunity for business to hire eager seniors who have received two years of training in their Career Academies and are ready to work! Businesses are able to employ and/or sponsor training for these highly trained seniors upon a request to the school and finding the best senior for their business. Businesses may offer paid or unpaid positions. For more information, contact Lori Anderson at 850.941.6200 ext. 2188.