While this month’s lead article is about the relationship between Realtors and those who are trying to bring new businesses to North Florida, I want to spend a few minutes talking about the kind of community we need to be if we are going to attract those companies.
And, believe me: the competition is strong.
Like many of you, I spend a great deal of time engaged in civic affairs, and I’m very invested in our future. That’s one reason I want Jacksonville to be the very best it can be.
I’m sure that we all share common goals.
• We all want Jacksonville to be safe.
• We all want every child to get a good education. That means we graduate young people who are prepared for college, or ready for work.
• We all want good paying jobs for every person who wants one.
• Perhaps first on our list is a desire for a strong and vibrant economy where our businesses are strong and stable.
• Just as important, we all want to create an economic environment where great companies will want to relocate and do business.
If you ask Jerry Mallot, head of Cornerstone, what’s important for Jacksonville to attract new companies and good jobs, he’ll probably tell you it begins with education.
That especially means a trained workforce available to fill the newly created jobs, along with training options for that work force.
It also means making sure that all our children — including the new families moving to Jacksonville — are provided an educational foundation upon which to build their futures.
Make no mistake. Our future fully depends on whether or not we educate our children. It is not only the right investment for kids, it is the best long-term economic investment we can make.
Companies already located here, along with those looking to relocate, have to have an educated work force. If we can’t provide that, we won’t be competitive to attract new businesses, but we run the big risk of losing what we already have.
Think about it. If we don’t grow new jobs and protect existing jobs, you or members of your family may find it difficult to find work. If we don’t attract new investments to grow our tax base, we can lose the services we depend on like public safety and public works.
Let me give you a couple of important workforce examples, one good and one not so good.
Jacksonville has a very strong medical community with lots of good jobs. We have leading hospitals from Mayo to Shands, great doctors and many businesses that support the medical fields. Over the years, we’ve built an impressive training program that allows us to have trained people ready to go to work in the medical profession. That training helps maintain stability and creates a great opportunity for growth and expansion.
But, our current deficiency in work force preparation has been an issue at Cecil Commerce Center, where we want to land large aviation and aviation-related industries.
Florida State College at Jacksonville (formerly FCCJ) is helping here, but we need to do more. Right now, any aviation companies wanting to relocate to Cecil have to look as far south as Cape Canaveral for available and trained workers.
Jacksonville has a reputation as a low tech, call center town. Don’t get me wrong, those jobs are needed. But, more often than not it means inexpensive labor that comes and goes. Training is minimal so when someone leaves we just get another person. And, it’s easy for these back office operations to pick up and move. Manufacturers, like those we need to attract to Cecil, invest millions of dollars in construction and equipment, making it more promising they will be around for a long time.
For months we’ve been reading the very good news coming from the Jacksonville Port Authority, where new developments are expected to create thousands of jobs.
We need trained people to fill these new jobs because they can help bring economic security to Jacksonville for decades. The University of North Florida is in the forefront here, offering a strong logistics undergraduate program that’s a boost to port expansion.
What else is important to relocating companies?
Most experts will tell you that a stable tax base — not necessarily low taxes — is a consideration.
But, the quality of life and city image are very important. Companies want a good park system and vibrant environment; the Jaguars being here is very helpful, and having a cultural scene and good restaurants are a plus.
Looking to the future, I believe there is tremendous opportunity for economic growth in this region over the next decade.
But, it won’t come automatically.
We have to provide leadership. We have to work hard. And, working together is critical.
What Mallot and his staff are doing everyday to bring in new businesses is vital. While Cornerstone needs to often work at arm’s length with the government because of needed corporate secrecy and sunshine requirements, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission as a teammate is also important.
The role of government, beginning with the Mayor and including the JEDC, working along side Cornerstone and the Chamber is very important in showing interested companies that Jacksonville has an engaged solid partnership.
— Jim Bailey is president of Bailey Publishing & Communications Inc. and publisher of Realty/Builder Connection.