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Pasco seeks to fill hundreds of jobs By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
If you’re looking for a teaching job, Pasco County Schools would love to hear from you. The district has teacher openings in language arts, math, science, social studies and special education areas. It also needs school psychologists, school social workers, and school counselors. The district expects to fill more than 400 vacancies for the 2016-2017 school year, including some positions that will be filled immediately, said Christine Pejot, director of employee benefits and risk management for
Pasco County Schools. “We’re really excited because this is the earliest we’ve started recruitment for the following school year in quite awhile,” Pejot said. The job fair will Christine Pejot be on Feb. 25 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the gymnasium at Sunlake High School, 3023 Sunlake Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes. The district plans to advertise its openings Feb. 19 through Feb. 23, so that will give people a specific idea of what’s out
there and available, and what principals are going to be looking for at the fair, Pejot said. Potential applicants have the opportunity to register early, and some interviews will be conducted during the fair, Pejot said. “We also expect a lot of students who are in their final internships at the colleges of education, that are looking for an appointment that would begin in August,” she said. Having the job fair early puts the district in a better position to compete for available candidates, she said. “Our certification people are going to be See JOBS, page 11A
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It’s no secret that when the economy tanked, construction companies and related industries were hit hard. “When everything crashed, we all had to really pare down. Our staff went almost in half,” said Linda Cox, CEO of Cox Fire Protection Inc.“Construction just came to a screeching halt.” The economy has been picking up, but there’s a shortage of skilled laborers, said Cox, whose company has been involved in numerous northern Hillsborough and Pasco county projects. Now that construction is moving again, opportunities for work are increasing, Cox said. “Projects that had been put on hold, now have funding again,” she said. And, there are new initiatives, too, across the Tampa Bay region, she said. “If you ride downtown (Tampa) and look at the tower cranes, that’s just a really good indication of how the industry is going. There’s a lot of really exciting stuff happening in Pasco County, too,” said Cox, whose company does sprinkler systems and alarm systems, primarily in commercial construction projects, including hospitals, schools and other large construction projects. “We work primarily through general contractors, or directly for owners,” she said. But now, companies like hers are facing a different problem. “We’re just not replacing the skilled work force as quickly as people exited it,” Cox said. After the economy crashed, she said,“a lot of Baby Boomers said, ‘Well, OK, I’m outta here’” and retired. Others switched to different lines of work and haven’t re-entered the construction force, she said. “Over the summer, we actually had to tell our sales team, don’t bid any more work, because we can’t staff it. We could have sold more work than we had crews to staff – which is a wonderful thing and a ter-
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LINDA COX
Jimmy Roberts, an apprenticeship graduate, is shown here during a statewide competition during the final year of his apprenticeship.
Johnny Dover, works on a ladder at a job site. The shortage of skilled laborers is creating issues for companies that are unable to pursue additional work, because they don’t have enough people to complete the work, says Linda Cox, CEO of Cox Fire Protection.
rible thing,” Cox said. The problem isn’t limited to the Tampa Bay region. The Construction Labor Market Analyzer offers projected employment needs, by state, in numerous categories through October 2018. Here are some of the projected needs for Florida: • Boilermaker, 15,349 • Carpenters, floor covering: 17,933 • Carpenters, scaffold builder: 16,897 • Concrete finisher: 19,097 • Electrician: 18,841 • Plumber: 15,485 • Roofer: 18,147 • Pipefitter, sprinkler system: 8,211 To help address the labor shortage,
there’s a push on to try to increase apprenticeships, Cox said. Cox said her husband, Ron, recently has been appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, to sit on the Governor’s Apprenticeship Council. The Associated Builders and Contractors is very active in the apprenticeship arena, running a large program that involves apprenticeships available in areas such as electrical, plumbing, masonry, heating ventilation and air conditioning, and fire protection, Cox said. There’s also a need to raise awareness about opportunities available for skilled laborers, she added. To that end,“The Associated Builders and Contractors is working with local districts to ensure our industry is represented as a valuable career path for students entering the work force,” Steve Cona III, president/CEO of Associated Buildings and Contractors, Florida Gulf Coast, said via email. It’s a message that needs to be reiterated, Cox said. “In our generation, a lot of kids just sort of followed along in the family footsteps, and construction was just sort of a viable option for a lot of young men,” she said.“And then, the trend really in high school began to be,‘If you are a bright student, college is the right pathway for you.’” But, the message that needs to be shared now — with young men and young women — is that college isn’t the only path to a bright future, Cox said. “There are some other equally lucrative, professional kind of avenues that don’t require four years of college and $100,000 of student debt,” she said.
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A new cinema and grocery store are in the offing for the next phase of development on the former Wiregrass Ranch. A preliminary site plan shows a 1,050seat movie house and a 30,000-square-foot grocery store, according to county records. Plans also show three, four-story buildings containing about 250 apartments.And, the development also includes shops and restaurants. Forest City Enterprises, the developers of The Shops at Wiregrass, and NRP Group are partnering on the project on about 34 acres of the former Wiregrass Ranch property in Wesley Chapel, off State Road 56.The new development, located next to The Shops at Wiregrass, will be linked to the mall, with shared access points for motorists and pedestrians. A dine-in cinema is a possibility, though no tenant announcements have been made. “We wanted to do something we
thought would be complementary to the property next door – The Shops at Wiregrass,” said Abbas Hasan, manager of planning and development for the Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises. “It really adds to the experience of the area, providing customers with extra options than restaurants and shopping.” A construction start date is on hold until a permit is received from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.An application was submitted in September. “That’s kind of driving the entire schedule,” Hasan said. In the meantime, details such as parking, landscaping, and the design and look of the new development are proceeding. “All these things take time, so we’re trying to work on these items now,” he said. “Whatever we can move ahead, we will.” The overall project includes apartments, seven garages, a clubhouse, a dog park, pool and fitness area. About 120,000 square feet is set aside for retail and/or restaurants including the cinema and grocery store.
Costco Wholesale wants giant sign By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
A planning oversight committee gave tentative approval to a large display sign for Costco Wholesale, slated to open next to Tampa Premium Outlets. It takes the membership warehouse chain a step closer to permitting and construction. Company officials have not announced an opening date. Costco received approval in January for the sale of beer, wine and liquor. See COSTCO, page 11A