One Community One Goal – Year 4 Progress Report: Job Growth and Average Salaries Have Increased

 (Miami, FL) – August 9, 2016– The more than 600 local community and business leaders that gathered at the Donna Shalala Student Center at the University of Miami to hear the One Community One Goal (OCOG) Annual Report to the Community, on Thursday, July 21^st had reason to walk away from the event feeling optimistic about the future of Miami-Dade County’s economy.

Attendance at the event was up by 11%, but the major development was in who was there. There was a 97% increase in the number of companies attending (232 in 2015 and 458 in 2016) and a 27% rise in the municipalities represented. 

The theme of the event touted Miami-Dade County’s emerging technology and innovation sector, which has experienced a 28% increase in jobs since 2012, but the good news didn’t stop there. 

“I am proud to report that as of early 2016 we have seen an increase of 44,000 jobs in Miami-Dade County since 2012 within the high-skilled, high-wage targeted industries**,” said Dr. Tony Villamil, Washington Economics Group Founder & Principal and The Beacon Council’s Economic Roundtable chairman.

Job growth in all Miami-Dade business sectors rose by more than 111,000 jobs since 2012.

Another piece of positive news to come out of this year’s event is that the average salaries in Miami-Dade County are up from last year.  Based on data from EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.), the average wage among those who work in the 7 targeted industries is $62,688 this year; the average for all other County business sectors is $60,583. In 2015, wages for targeted industries were $59,310 and for all sectors $55,321.

“Miami-Dade County is the community of the future. We are what other global communities will look and feel like in the next decade,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor and OCOG co-chair, Carlos Gimenez. “And we can contribute much of our success in terms of economic development and growth to the strong partnerships we have with organizations like the Miami- Dade Beacon Council. I’m proud of what we have accomplished through One Community One Goal, and the work we will continue to do to make Miami-Dade the place to live, work and play for current and future generations of Miamians.”

Those who are leading The Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s One Community One Goal effort say many of these results can be attributed to work done with community partners in the seven categories* identified as critical to diversifying and strengthening our economy:

      I.        PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (Miami-Dade County)

·         improving physical assets

2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION (The Knight Foundations and eMerge)

·growing entrepreneurial ecosystem

3. EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (ALC & CareerSource SF)                                                                                                         

·Aligning curricula with evolving business needs

4. BUSINESS CLIMATE AND POLICY  (Miami-Dade County

·enhancing business growth opportunities

5. LEADERSHIP (The Beacon Council)

·Driving implementation

6. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MARKETING (The Beacon Council)

·branding Miami-Dade County as a premiere business destination

7. TARGET INDUSTRIES (The Beacon Council/GMCVB)

·pursue industries with high wages and long-term sustainability

•  Aviation
•  Banking and Finance
•  Creative Design
•  Hospitality
•  Life Sciences and Healthcare
•  Technology
•  Trade and Logistics

The substantial increase in jobs came as a result of a great deal of planning by OCOG leaders, who set an ambitious goal 4 years ago to grow 27,000 new target industries jobs in five years.   Major strides were experienced in the emerging technology and innovation sector, Trade and Logistics, increased its Miami-Dade workforce by 21% and in the Aviation sector, which saw a 16% increase in jobs since 2012. 

Banking and Finance, Creative Design and Hospitality and Tourism sectors also experienced double-digit gains driving the average growth in jobs among all 7 targeted industries to 13%.  Job growth in all Miami-Dade County business sectors has increased by 11% in the past 4 years.

 “This report is very reliable indicator on how Miami-Dade County’s business environment is transforming,” said President and CEO of Miami-Dade’s Beacon Council, Larry K. Williams. “Jobs grow when local businesses succeed and expand. Through One Community One Goal, we’ve created a county-wide strategic planning process that has resulted in sustainable job growth and a healthy economic environment where wages can trend higher.”

The One Community One Goal co-chairs for the past 2 years have been Mayor Gimenez, Matt Haggman, Program Director for the Knight Foundation and Doctor’s Hospital CEO Nelson Lazo.

“One Community One Goal is unique because it celebrates Miami’s diversity, while emphasizing inclusiveness— building upon a common desire to create a stronger, more prosperous Miami. The result is a blueprint for determining the type of community we want to be together,” said Haggman.

“We are now in the last year of a very ambitious five-year One Community One Goal strategic plan,” said Lazo.” I think when we first set our goals we knew it was a well strategized, aggressive wish list. Now, as we reflect and look at how much we’ve accomplished in that short span of time, there is only one word that comes to mind; success!  What our community has accomplished during the past 4 years in seeking new businesses, helping existing businesses thrive and setting attainable goals for the economic growth of our area has been nothing short of remarkable. I’m proud to be a part of it!”

The ultimate purpose of the One Community One Goal (OCOG) initiative is to grow higher-paying jobs and attract greater investments in Miami-Dade County. By focusing on the development of target industries and the improvement of assets and infrastructure to create a welcoming business environment, our community is a national model for economic growth and expansion

The principal member of the Beacon Council staff in charge of administrating One Community One Goal is Joe Hovancak.

“This year’s impressive report gives us an indication that the unprecedented approach we are using to create real economic growth is working,” said Hovancak, who is the Vice President for One Community One Goal. “This report is amazing but there is no way we can pause for a moment and stop pushing forward. This gives us the encouragement to be more aggressive in our goals of attracting new, high paying jobs to Miami-Dade County and to work in tandem with community partners to make sure our growth is synergistic with our strategic plan.” 

About The Beacon Council

Miami-Dade Beacon Council is Miami-Dade County’s official economic development partnership. It is a public-private organization which has contributed to the community’s economic success for three decades. Since 1985, the nonprofit has assisted more than 980 businesses that have created more than 65,000 direct jobs and added more than $4 billion in new capital investments. The organization accomplishes this by marketing Miami-Dade as a world-class business location, growing local companies and shaping the local economy’s future. For more information, visit www.beaconcouncil.com

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*Addendum: This is a brief overview about some of the accomplishments in the seven categories, including the seven target industries, identified as critical to diversifying and strengthening our economy”

·         Physical Infrastructure

•  Miami-Dade County has invested more than a billion dollars in enhancing PortMiami to be ready for post-Panamax ships. These investments included the port tunnel, the 50-foot dredge and the renewed rail access.
• Miami-Dade County will be investing in intelligent and adaptive technologies, such as smart traffic lights that will improve traffic flow. Several systems are being tested.
• Miami-Dade County began a multi-billion dollar investment in renewing and strengthening the water and sewer infrastructure. This will prepare for the effects of the sea-level rise and climate change.

·         Entrepreneurship and Innovation

• Miami Dade College launched the Idea Center, a groundbreaking hub where students from all disciplines can gather, collaborate and take advantage of resources and training to develop their entrepreneurial ideas.
• The University of Miami has quadrupled their licensing activity and increased intellectual property revenue over six-fold.
• Florida International University launched Startup FIU, which will include three new incubators and an accelerator program.
• Refresh Miami, a tech and entrepreneur networking organization, held the first Hack For Good Hackathon. The event paired Miami-Dade’s non-profits with the top tech talent in the community to come up with solutions to some of their toughest challenges.

·         Education and Workforce Development

• Sant La, Haitian Neighborhood Center has a workforce development and job placement program for Haitian immigrants. Participants improve their employability through acquisition of skills needed in emerging industries.
• The Cuban American National Council created a workforce program for a variety of target group that works in cooperation with dozens of businesses in order to meet their workforce demands.
• The University of Miami is spearheading the Career Portals project, an online platform with information on careers and wages for jobs in the target industries, education needed, companies in these sectors in Miami-Dade County.
• St. Thomas University responded to the high demand and limited training opportunities within the medical field, especially for nursing by creating a Bachelors and a Masters program in Nursing, together with an expanded, state-of-the-art simulation lab.

·         Business Climate and Policy

• Miami-Dade County hired a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) to develop community and region-wide solutions to the sea-level rise and climate change challenges. Miami-Dade County is the only county in the nation with a CRO.
• The Miami Foundation, together with Miami-Dade County, City of Miami and the City of Miami Beach submitted an application to the Rockerfeller Foundation resulting in the designation of Miami-Dade County, together with the City of Miami and the City of Miami Beach, as one of the 100 Resilient Cities.
• Miami-Dade County and Florida have been ranked among the most business-friendly communities.

·         Leadership

• The Academic Leaders Council (ALC) was formed by the presidents of Barry University, Florida International University, Florida Memorial University, Miami Dade College, St. Thomas University and the University of Miami and the Superintendent of the Miami-Dade Public School System.
• Bank of America recognized that many nonprofits are challenged to keep pace with increased demand for services, resulting in limited resources to address important issues in local communities. The Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® program provides grants and leadership development training to both the executive directors and emerging leadesr at selected nonprofits each year.
• In 2015 TD Bank created and implemented a program called ‘Bring Change’ where a local NFP is chosen to be the program participant and received social media and in-store advertising exposure as well as a donation from the bank.

·         Economic Development Marketing

• The Beacon Council worked with the South Florida Business Journal on a special insert showcasing examples of companies that choose Miami-Dade County for their relocation or expansion.
• The Beacon Council hosted Florida Power & Light (FPL) with an economic development program to update local and municipal economic developers on how site selection professionals evaluate locations.
• The Beacon Council attended and participated in a variety of tradeshows and conference, including CoreNet Global Summit, Medica in Germany and the World Mobile Congress in Spain.
• The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) partnered with Miami Dade College and MIA Animation to target video game companies and animation companies to expand or relocated to Miami from Los Angeles, California. The group met with companies such as Sony, Disney and Insomniac Games to promote Miami as a business destination.
• Miami-Dade County was promoted as a center for Banking & Finance at the Asian Financial Forum in April 2016. Connections were made with Asian companies interested in Miami-Dade County as a future location for their expansion.

·         **Target Industries

• Aviation

1.    The Beacon Council’s Aviation Committee continues to work to establish the Miami International Aerospace Show. The committee, together with the International Air Transport Association, will be organizing the 2017 Aviation Day Miami, an aviation industry symposium that will include thought leaders from across the industry discussing topics that directly impact the regional aviation industry.

2.    The Beacon Council’s Aviation Committee is working closely with our local education partners to support local training programs and promote aviation as a career pathway. 

• Banking & Finance

1.    The Beacon Council’s Banking & Finance Committee is working on the promotion of local financial industry education and training which has resulted in the development and securement of up to 25 paid financial Industry internships with the OCOG-TDN internship program for the Fall of 2016 and Spring 2017.

2.    The Beacon Council’s Banking & Finance Committee provided input that has added relevant courses and programs to the Catalog of Academic Offerings prepared by ALC-FIU.

• Creative Design

1.    The Beacon Council’s Creative Design Committee launched a survey assessing the connection between the business and the arts. From small businesses to major corporations over 500 companies told us about their support for Miami-Dade’s billion dollar arts community. Among the key findings, 74% say corporate arts involvement helps to recruit talent and retain high level executives and employees..

2.    In support of further strengthening the ecosystem for the fashion industry, Miami-Dade College established the Miami Fashion Institute. The Creative Design Committee members met with the College to provide input in shaping the program.

3.    Miami Dade College is changing the landscape of animation and game design in Miami with MAGIC, the Miami Animation and Game Design Complex. Built in partnership with Pixar, MAGIC is the only learning facility in all of Florida that functions just like a professional animation and game design studio.

• Hospitality & Tourism

1.    Royal Caribbean Cruise Line will be building one of the nation’s most innovative cruise terminals at PortMiami, which will bring the largest cruise ships in the world to the port, solidifying PortMiami’s position as the Cruise Capital of the World. This terminal will be a partnership between Miami-Dade County and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

• Life Sciences & Healthcare

1.    In February 2016, the State of Pharma and its Future in South Florida half-day event was held to promote the Pharma Hub designation of Miami International Airport (only one of two airports in the world) by the International Air Transport Association. Over 150 freight forwarders, life science companies and professional service providers attended.

2.    As part of the Affordable Care Act, the Health Council of South Florida has developed a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) tool to assist local hospitals with addressing community health needs that are not being met, especially in the low-income communities.

3.    Florida Memorial University’s natural science department continues to make great strides in the area of cancer research. Their undergraduate chemistry students work in tandem with faculty to develop and test cancer drug antigens, several of which have demonstrated promising results.

• Technology

1.    The Beacon Council’s Tech Committee organized the first Technology Innovation Exchange between Chief Technology Officers of the larger healthcare organizations in Miami-Dade County and local startups in the healthcare technology to discuss ideas on how the existing healthcare organization can benefit from new technologies developed by local companies and how local startups can introduce their technologies to these organizations.

2.    Miami Dade College recently joined an elite group of schools when it was selected by Amazon for their innovative Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate program. With the dramatically increasing demand for cloud employees, AWS Educate provides an academic gateway for the next generation of IT and cloud professionals.

• Trade & Logistics

1.    The Beacon Council’s Trade & Logistics Committee worked with the universities and college in Miami-Dade County and the Miami-Dade Public School System to support and promote Trade & Logistics educational programs in order to bridge the industry skills gap and build a 21st century talented workforce. Examples of results include the inclusion of Magaya Software, ASCI Software and SATO Global Solutions Software in Miami Dade College’s trade & logistics curriculum and a new Global Trade & Logistics magnet program at Miami Central Senior High School.

2.    The increase in Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) capacity among the international trade community was a key component to the growth of the industry. The Beacon Council in partnership with Miami-Dade County and other organization organized a workshop on the benefits of a FTZ. In addition, efforts have begun to create a FTZ in the 79th Street Corridor.

NEW LEADERS TASKFORCE

In June 2016, The Beacon Council New Leaders Taskforce organized its third annual event, My Miami, which addressed how young professionals are choosing Miami as their location to start their careers. About 150 young professionals, as well as a variety of young professional groups, participated. Highlighted at the event was the fact that over the last several years the New Leaders Taskforce has shared their experience as a young professional in Miami to more than 3,000 high school and college students.

URBAN INITIATIVES AND SMALL BUSINESS

The Beacon Council’s Urban Initiatives Committee reaches across all target sectors of One Community One Goal; focused on engaging all facets of our community to promote an environment within the Miami-Dade business community that fosters greater inclusion of African-Americans as workers and business owners; a unified vision with the ultimate goal of new job and wealth creation for all communities. The committee is engaged with community and corporate partners and successfully launched a procurement connections initiative for urban entrepreneurs, partnered with Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, which engaged 29 urban African-American owned businesses to-date.

The Beacon Council’s Urban Initiatives Committee is also active with the 79th Street Initiative and aiming to further increase collaborative initiatives with our other committees. A study to better understand the opportunities in the 79th Street corridor was conducted and one of the proposed projects includes the creation of a potential foreign trade zone in that community.

Catalyst Miami has created two programs to assist low-income families with skills to save money and open savings accounts. And United Way has programs for financial stability to assist working individuals and families with skills and services to improve their financial circumstances long-term.