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Dyer, whose $12-million company led its competitors in detecting the Melissa virus, is direct about her company's biggest challenge. "People," she asserts.
The computer software industry -- which encompasses computer programming, data processing, pre-packaged software and other services -- has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in Florida and the nation in recent years. According to a 1998 Enterprise Florida discussion paper, software design companies in Florida employed almost 50,000 in 1996, about one-third of the state's overall information technology (IT) workforce. Jobs in Florida's software sector grew by 84% from 1989 to 1996, beating the nation's 68% increase for the same period.
Holding Florida, and the nation, back from more explosive growth is the struggle to find skilled workers. "Everybody has problems," says Mark Wotell, CEO of Coconut Code in Deerfield Beach, who adds, "California is probably the best market for good talent."
A 1998 University of South Florida study on the Interstate 4 "High-Tech Corridor" notes the broad gap between the growing need for IT professionals and the number of IT college graduates, from both community colleges and universities. In interviews with more than 100 IT companies, USF professor Alan Hevner and University of Central Florida professor Paul Cheney found that the need for computer programming workers will grow by 65%, or 11,100 jobs, from 1998 to 2003. That's only to meet the needs of companies already located in 13 central Florida counties along the I-4 corridor. Says Hevner, "The demand is going to be there."
While eight of Florida's 10 state universities offer degrees in computer and information services, much of the focus has been on advanced degrees. But Hevner and Cheney's interviews find that the greatest need is for workers with bachelor's degrees. For 1996-1997, less than 10% of the state universities' bachelor's degrees were in computer and information sciences, engineering, engineering-related technologies and mathematics, according to Enterprise Florida. Those same disciplines produced 20% of the Ph.D.s and 13% of the master's degrees.
Florida has been able to hold its own in attracting computer software companies only because the workforce shortage is as bad or worse in high-tech centers such as Silicon Valley, the Washington, D.C., area, and Austin, Texas.
The need for skilled employees, not necessarily those with advanced degrees, is confirmed by Yong K. Kim, founder and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based User Technology Associates, a fast-growing, 900-employee IT company. User Technology recently opened a software design center in Tampa. The facility now houses nine programmers and expects to add about 40 more within a year. Kim's target candidates are software professionals with hands-on experience, but not necessarily an IT or engineering degree. He expects 30% to 40% of his workers will come from employee referrals. In picking Tampa, Kim cited the area's lifestyle and low cost of living as well as the availability of potential workers from throughout Florida. "Tampa is the hub of all of South America and Central America," says Kim, in a comment that might surprise Miami economic development leaders. In fact, Kim chose Tampa over Miami because he already had a handful of workers in the Tampa Bay area.
Working together on training
To increase the pool of software professionals, Florida's business and academic leaders are teaming up to evaluate tech companies' needs and develop new training programs to meet them. In south Florida, home to more than 165 software companies, including the state's largest, Fort Lauderdale's Citrix Systems, about 70 software, hardware, web services, electronic publishing and communications companies have formed the Information Technology Forum of South Florida. To encourage training, the forum works closely with educational institutions along the I-95 Corridor, such as Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University and the University of Miami. In the forum's "1999 High Tech Industry Survey" of 43 companies, availability of qualified staff was the top concern, with 65% citing it as a very important factor in determining success. Fifty-eight percent of companies plan to add software engineers, who make an average of $65,000 a year in south Florida.
"People and (investment) money are still the top two issues," says Margaret Grisdela, founder and president of the IT forum. Although software firm Tradex Technologies successfully raised $28 million in venture capital while based in Tampa, the e-commerce company recently moved its headquarters to Atlanta as it prepares for an IPO. "We're not abandoning Tampa," says Gary Brooks, vice president for marketing. "We're just taking advantage of a new talent pool."
In Orlando, UCF has expanded its School of Computer Science and established partnerships with numerous local technology companies. At the undergraduate level, the number of computer science majors increased to nearly 1,000 in the 1998-99 school year, up from 903. There's a new certificate in computer and information technology for liberal arts majors and more courses for non-majors. On Florida's west coast, USF increased funding for undergraduate computer science classes at its St. Petersburg and Sarasota campuses. There's no shortage of interested students, says Hevner, the USF professor. "People see jobs out there," he says. "They see demand."
