Florida Chamber Testifies at Inaugural Talent Development Council

FLORIDA 2030 BLUEPRINT Provides Roadmap for Improving Florida’s Talent Pipeline for a Better Workforce

Florida Chamber of Commerce Recommends to New Statewide Talent Development Council

Tallahassee, Fla. (October 7, 2019) – The Florida Chamber of Commerce today encouraged the new state created Talent Development Council to adopt recommendations from Florida’s next strategic plan – the Florida 2030 Blueprint – as it works to align education with 21^st century workforce needs.

“Florida already boasts the number one college and university system in the country, but we cannot stop there. To grow Florida from the 17^th largest economy in the world to the 10^th largest by 2030, we must ensure that more than 80 percent of Florida’s workforce has essential employability skills,” said Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the newly created Talent Development Council.

Wilson provided a presentation with the Talent Development Council today during its inaugural meeting. The Council was established this year when Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 7071, sponsored by Senator Travis Hutson, into law. It is charged with developing a coordinated, data-driven, statewide approach to meeting Florida’s needs for a 21st-century workforce that employers and educators use as part of Florida’s talent supply system.

To improve Florida’s talent pipeline for a better workforce that will meet Florida’s future needs, the Florida 2030 Blueprint calls for ensuring that:

• More than 80 percent of Florida’s workforce has essential employability skills,
• More than 60 percent of Floridians 25-64 have a high-value postsecondary certificate, degree, or training experience,
• 95 percent of entering high school students graduate within four years,
• 100 percent of Florida 8th graders read and perform math at or above grade level (currently at 46 percent in math, and 56 percent in reading)
• 100 percent of Florida 3rd graders read at or above grade level (currently at 58 percent), and 
• 100 percent of children are ready for kindergarten (currently 53 percent are ready). 

Workforce quality is the number one issue facing businesses today, according to the Florida Chamber’s Small Business Survey. The Florida Chamber is uniting Florida’s business community for good, and to ensure Florida is prepared to meet the education needs of Floridians while improving the talent pipeline for a better workforce.

Established in 1916 as Florida’s first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the state’s largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations aggressively representing small and large businesses from every industry and every region. The Florida Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as critical to secure Florida’s future. The Florida Chamber works closely with its Florida Political Operations and the Florida Chamber Foundation. Visit www.FloridaChamber.com for more information.

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