Southwest Florida Employer Skills Gap Report 2024
February 03, 2025 / RERI Research Team
Southwest Florida Employer Skills Gap Report 2024
In September 2022, FGCU in partnership with FutureMakers Coalition at Collaboratory received $23 million from the U.S Department of Commerce's Good Jobs Challenge grant. This funding led to the creation of The Southwest Florida Equitable Jobs Pipeline (EJP), a regional initiative that aims to train local job seekers in employer-demanded skills and ultimately place these job seekers into gainful jobs in the region within four key sectors: Healthcare, PK-12 Education, Manufacturing and Logistics.
As part of this program, a skills gap analysis was conducted for the four industries that are the focus of the pipeline. The first skills gap analysis was conducted in June 2023 and utilized data from Lightcast®, a proprietary labor market analytics firm that gathers and integrates economic, demographic, and education data from various government and private-sector sources, and publishes county-level datasets. The analysis also included a set of roundtables and surveys to help contour the regional aggregate data. Results from the 2023 skills gap analysis demonstrated demand for a wide variety of skills, industry competencies and training programs.
As a follow-up to these 2023 skills gap analysis, our team released a survey to gauge a wider understanding of skills gaps changes over time and included additional information related to supportive services for workers and recruitment. The survey was open to all industries, but also included a more detailed overview of specific responses from our four EJP target industries. The RERI used past survey questions, Lightcast® Labor Market Analytics and its own working knowledge of the region to guide questions and response options. An invitation to complete the internet survey was sent to 3,179 stakeholders in Southwest Florida. Two reminders were sent during the survey period. One hundred and eleven respondents completed the survey from March 26, 2024, through May 25, 2024.
This report provides an overview of responses across categories including skill gaps, employee recruitment, and employee hiring and retention. The skills gap showed that interpersonal skills or soft skills were often identified as the most critical skill for employers. Communication, customer service, project management, and social skills were consistently highlighted as essential for both current and future success, regarldess of indsutry.
The analysis revealed significant challenges in identifying and recruiting qualified candidates. A key issue is a mismatch between the skills acquired through education and training versus the actual skills demanded by employers. This highlights the need for closer alignment between education and industry needs. Furthermore, supply and demand imbalances, generational mismatches, and the high cost of living in the region pose as additional hurdles.
Critical skills are highly valued in both hiring and retention. While on-the-job training and mentorship are common upskilling strategies, the analysis indicates a growing trend towards skills-based hiring.
Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach such as strengthening workforce development programs, improving recruitment strategies, and addressing the cost of living. Additionally, organizations may consider prioritizing the development of critical skills within their workforce and implementing more broad hiring practices to attract and retain a comprehensive talent pool.
Despite challenges in timely hiring due to skill gaps, strengthening partnerships between employers and educational institutions is key to addressing these issues. These findings demonstrate the importance of Initiatives like the EJP, which helps by providing targeted skill development and support services.
Downloads:
Southwest Florida Employer Skills Gap Report 2024
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