YEAR IN REVIEW 2015-2016 Annual Report
Workforce Development The Corridor focuses efforts on workforce development that span the breadth of the talent pipeline , from techPATH ’ s focus on STEM education in middle and high school to other workforce programs that focus on postsecondary education and beyond . techPATH continued this year to bring educators and students into technology industry environments , giving students up-close and personal insights into local high tech careers and providing teachers new ways to enhance STEM subjects .
The Corridor ’ s techPATH team continued to host two programs during the Interservice / Industry Training , Simulation and Education Conference ( I / ITSEC ), the world ’ s largest modeling , simulation and training ( MS & T ) conference . One program focused on students and another on teachers and school administrators to highlight high tech careers available to students , with a focus on MS & T and classroom takeaways . MS & T has a $ 5 billion impact on our state and supports 60,000 jobs .
The Corridor ’ s stemCONNECT also engages students by bringing expert speakers into the classroom virtually through web conferencing tools . This year , stemCONNECT partnered with an astronaut from NASA to showcase life in space , among other experts in academia and private industry who continued to introduce middle and high school students to high tech industries . stemCONNECT has reached more than 4,000 students in less than two years for a total of more than 8,000 students introduced to high tech industry by Corridor programs . highlight local tech industries and remind career center professionals to look at Florida when assisting students in securing a job .
Furthermore , The Corridor continues to encourage local innovators in economic development through its Dan Webster Young Innovator Scholarship awarded at the Florida Economic Development Council ’ s conference . The award provides financial support for Florida ’ s up-and-coming economic development young professionals in pursuit of their Certified Economic Developer ( CEcD ) designation and pays homage to Congressman Webster , who championed the unique economic development model known today as The Corridor .
Additional workforce development programs supported by The Corridor during 2015 / 2016 include : STEM Education Day , a one-day conference hosted by the Zora Festival and Valencia College that introduced students to high tech careers ; the 61st State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida , which recognized and rewarded talented high school students for research in math and science ; the region ’ s FIRST robotics competitions ; regional summits hosted by the CareerSource boards of Central Florida , Brevard , Flagler , Volusia and Tampa that facilitated discussions on important issues facing the region ’ s workforce ; and , many others .
Entrepreneurial Support The Corridor recognizes the importance of supporting the region ’ s entrepreneurs and growth companies , which is why it has invested in two important programs over the last decade : The Corridor ’ s Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center ( FLVEC ) and GrowFL , the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida .
FLVEC ( www . flvec . com ) lists city , county , state and federal business resources available in all 67 counties in Florida , as well as information regarding entrepreneurial events and profiles on local entrepreneurs .
Entrepreneurial profiles on FLVEC have enhanced the site and tell the story of entrepreneurs across the state . Since launching the new format and research functions , FLVEC has published more than 100 entrepreneur profiles , and garnered more than 12,500 new and returning visitors who accessed more than 35,000 pages of information on doing business in Florida this year . It also counts more than 20 economic development partners from across Florida that have joined as financial partners to help the program grow and expand .
The Corridor is also working with Enterprise Florida representatives to further highlight international programs available to help entrepreneurs and business owners expand companies .
GrowFL continues to grow business in the state through its Economic Gardening ® approach for second-stage companies . It provides resources , mentoring , support and more to help business owners overcome obstacles to growth and achieve further success . Since its inception in 2009 , GrowFL has assisted hundreds of companies that have supported more than 16,700 direct jobs across the state and contributed more than $ 3 billion to the Florida economy .
The Corridor ’ s Career Expo also returned in 2016 after a hiatus during the Great Recession . Florida universities and state colleges were among more than 45 universities from across the nation convened to speak with local employers to place graduates . Career Expo served to
During 2015 / 2016 , The Corridor also continued its ongoing support of the region ’ s university-based incubators , which have seen enormous growth and client success , as well as international recognition .
The UCF Incubation Network received a boost to expand entrepreneurship capabilities in March 2015 with two grants totaling $ 750,000 from the U . S . Department of Commerce . These grants have helped entrepreneurs and engineers to commercialize research .
62 florida . HIGH . TECH 2017