Interview: John Flanagan, CEO

John Flanagan CEO CareerSource Tampa Bay

office and began operations at a new cybersecurity center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Finally, MAS Global Consulting, a Palm Harbor company, was ranked at No. 384 thanks to its 242% revenue growth. Along with these three noteworthy Tampa Bay companies, Florida boasts 13 other companies on the Fast 500 statewide. “The communities in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg and Clearwater have truly invested in the tech market, and they are trying a lot of different avenues to keep tech professionals here in the area. We realized that if we are going to attract more techbased companies, than we are going to need to have the talent. Otherwise, these companies are going to go somewhere else and with them they will take the revenue and taxes to another area where they have this access to talent. This region has done a great job of not just talking about it, but actually putting a plan together, initiating the plan and setting up for ( )

What is behind the company’s success in the last few years in the Tampa Bay Region?

I believe it’s partnerships. The system itself can’t be all things to all people, so we have to make sure that we partner with the right agencies, the right businesses, and the right governmental institutions to make sure we are filling the gaps that employers see in regards to who’s coming onboard for them and how they are finding that talent. Our role is really to sit in the middle of that and make sure that the partners talk to each other and really align.

In which sectors were you most active throughout 2019?

Healthcare is a driver, from entry-level personal care positions to registered nurses. It is the same everywhere, but it is exacerbated in Florida because of the influx of population that we get, particularly in the Tampa Bay Region, where in the last 10 years, according to the latest census, we had about a quarter of a million new residents just in Hillsborough County. That comes with needs, especially in the healthcare segment. And then of course, hospitality and tourism are big. We are also a tech hub here in Tampa, so there is a huge need there. Manufacturing is starting to grow here as well.

How are you assisting the construction sector, which is dealing with a serious lack of trade labor?

It is a growing area because we are going to need infrastructure. Hillsborough County just passed a 1% sales tax to address some of the issues we have with infrastructure. One of the things that we do as workforce developers is to work not just with companies but with educational institutions. We have a strong partnership with the Hillsborough County Public Schools, which is one of the largest school districts in the country. Together, we really look at the short-term credentials that can help folks enter the workforce, start to earn a wage and if they want to, they can go back to school and get a degree.