Strategic Support Industries

Northwest Florida’s two strategic support clusters – Information Technology Services and Research and Engineering – represent disciplines which transcend all four of Northwest Florida’s target industries, fit well with the Florida business, regulatory, and tax climate and have a large existing presence in the region. In fact, the concentration of IT and engineering is identified as a real strength for Northwest Florida and its growing knowledge-based economy.

Due to their size, wage structure and projected growth, IT and engineering represent important components of the economy. In 2005, these support industries accounted for more than 12,000 positions directly employed by IT or engineering firms in over 800 businesses in Northwest Florida. Similar to national profiles, these businesses are typically small operations. This concentration does not include the IT and engineering professionals employed in non-IT or non-engineering classified businesses. IT and engineering activities are enablers, represent a huge part of the Northwest Florida economy, and serve as a foundation for future growth.

These strategic support industries are inherently important to the success of Northwest Florida’s target industries and are critical to the growth and development of the region’s diversified and sustainable economy. As such, they are commanding the focus of the region’s economic development, workforce and educational institutions who are continuing efforts to strengthen the economic foundations associated with these critical support industries. These efforts range from establishing career academies at the high school level that offer industry certifications such as Oracle and Cisco through expanded graduate programs. Existing businesses in Northwest Florida identify, especially in IT and engineering, a workforce strong in quality, productivity, and stability. However, we know that our workforce strengths can become a weakness and that we must continue to expand the educational offerings in this area to continue to provide the quantity of skilled workers necessary to satisfy this industry’s growing employment demands.

The cutting-edge research occurring at leading research centers such as the Naval Surface Warfare Center, the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, and the National High Magnetic Fields Laboratory, to name just a few; plus the region’s unique quality of life are allowing Northwest Florida to attract world-class engineering and IT talent. In fact, all five of Florida’s National Fellows in Artificial Intelligence are located at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola. In engineering and testing, more than one-fourth of the employment represents engineers – aerospace engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, civil engineers, and computer software engineers. In the information technology, systems integration, and network solutions sector, the region’s most prominent jobs are computer software engineer, computer programmer, computer systems analyst, and computer support specialists.

Included in the IT and Engineering support services is the consulting services sector which is having a catalytic effect on the region’s target industries in general and especially on the aerospace and defense sector. Northwest Florida has developed a sizeable group of specialized consulting firms servicing the region’s aerospace and defense and other clusters. In Northwest Florida, we are working hard to build a network of consulting services, financial services, legal services, and other specialized support services that will support our target industry development.