Health care is a top priority in Northeast Florida.

Health care and medical occupations top the list for workforce training requests in Northeast Florida.

Bruce Ferguson, CEO of CareerSource Northeast Florida, says the need for health care workers in the region will continue to grow. “We have everything from manufacturing of contact lenses with Johnson & Johnson to research and development that’s done at Mayo Clinic to all the health care service delivery hospitals.”

CareerSource of Northeast Florida works closely with JaxUSA Partnership to determine which areas of business need specially trained workers. The organization then works with educational institutions in the region to provide occupational skills training to job seekers.

In addition to health-related businesses, key industries in Northeast Florida include transportation and logistics, finance, information technology and advanced manufacturing.

Though many local businesses have been reeling in recent months from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferguson does not foresee a change in the businesses that require trained workers any time soon. “We still see those as solid target industries,” he says.

Ferguson expects shifts in how workforce training is provided, however.

When the pandemic hit the U.S. earlier this year, educational facilities at all levels scrambled to finalize the semester amid stay-at-home orders and social distancing. Online learning became a valuable tool for schools.

“That online channel of learning won’t go away,” Ferguson says. “I think the biggest (workforce training) trend going forward will be hybrid models — providing some classroom training and some online.”

 

Read more in Florida Trend's October issue.
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