Employment Outlook Promising on the Space Coast

From: Hometown News – March 2014

If you were one of many who attended the CareerSource Brevard Job Fair in March, you saw quite a bit of activity as nearly 50 employers actively recruited new employees.

The turnout of job seekers and employers speaks volumes about the positive outlook for employment in Brevard County. The upswing in employment on the Space Coast is supported by the decrease in the jobless rate to 7 percent in January, down from 9 percent a year earlier.

Online job search engines, such as indeed.com, show hundreds of listings for positions on the Florida Space Coast. The number of jobs will be increasing over the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Government Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those looking to find work in Brevard County, this is a welcome message.

Highest growth jobs

What does it all mean to those who are searching for employment? It means that openings are becoming more available across the spectrum of industries on the Space Coast. Manufacturing has taken the lead with the expansion of Embraer, a Brazilian plane manufacturer who brought 260 jobs to its facility based at the Melbourne Airport. American Surveillance Systems will expand its Service Facility at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, creating 20 jobs in manufacturing and engineering. Also on the horizon is the $1.2 million Melbourne subsidiary for Visions Systems, a France-based Tier One supplier for aeronautics, marine, and automotive industries that promises 40 jobs.

Healthcare related jobs are on the rise in the area as our population ages and the Affordable Care Act kicks in. More skilled allied health workers will be in demand as more people seek medical care, whether for an illness or injury, wellness care or elective procedures. Jobs that appear to benefit from the enactment of the ACA include dental and medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, physical therapy assistant, medical records and health information technician, health services manager, diagnostic medical sonographer, and medical insurance billing and coding. Many such allied healthcare jobs are expected to expand at a higher than average rate in the Space Coast region, according to Workforce Region 13’s projections for Brevard County employment growth.

Skilled workers in demand

The common thread among the high growth occupations in Brevard County is education. Most job descriptions call for a degree, whether it’s earned at an adult vocational school or a college that offers associates or bachelor’s degrees. In a highly competitive job market like the Space Coast, education will be the tiebreaker in the selection of hires or even consideration of their resumes. Fortunately, educational programs abound at Brevard County’s public and private post-secondary schools.

Education need not be a barrier to obtaining employment and job satisfaction. See the handwriting on the wall and plan now to get the education you need to be competitive for job opportunities of the future.

Catherine M. Mallozzi, a certified senior professional in human resources, is director of Career Services at Everest University in Melbourne. She has more than 30 years of experience in the human resources field in the Space Coast community.

Mallozzi is also a CareerSource Brevard Workforce Champion.