Studer Community Institute

Rebuilding our middle class could start here

August 24, 2014
/ Mollye Barrows
/ economy,report-pensacola-metro-2014

Tauheedah Rasheed knows the value of hard work. A single mother with two young children and then only a high school education, Rasheed could barely make ends meet working in customer service. “Our lights were never off, our house was always secure,” Rasheed said. “But I just want to provide more for my kids.” Rasheed, 32, dreamed of attending college and becoming a nurse. But even with assistance, paying for school and keeping her household running would have been nearly impossible. Enter Pensacola State College’s Health Profession Opportunity Grants program. Rasheed’s dreams came true. In 2011, Rasheed became a certified nursing assistant. Two years later, she got licensed as a practical nurse, a field that expands her career options and allows her to build a better life for her kids. “It’s going to make a tremendous difference,” Rasheed said. “It just gives me a lot of avenues and it has made a positive change in me and in my kids’ lives.” Funded by a five-year, $8.5 million grant through the Affordable Care Act, the program provides education and training for low-income students for jobs in health care that are expected to be in demand. In a metro area such as Pensacola, where health care is expected to fuel the regional economy for the next several years, this path to success is good for Rasheed — and for Pensacola overall. Financial services, fueled by Navy Federal Credit Union, along with service-related industries, are other strong sectors in the area’s economy, according to data from the University of West Florida’s Office of Economic Development and Engagement. Also set to increase in our job market are service-related jobs — janitors, construction laborers and food preparers — that don’t require much education. They pay lower wages. Manufacturing jobs — once a key contributor to the middle class economy — are diminishing. It is an economic shift that is unfolding across the state and nation. Job opportunities are expanding at the top for workers with education and skills. At the bottom are low-paying jobs available for workers with little education and skills. The result is a shrinking middle class that struggles to find good-paying jobs. Initiatives like PSC’s Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program can provide job training and help improve the health of the area’s economy. Keith Samuels, technical adviser for the program, said they do more than provide an opportunity for affordable education. They also help some students learn how to succeed. “They don’t think this is where they can be, so it’s not their culture,” he said. “Sometimes it’s just getting them to do something to get their foot onto a college campus.”

Skilled manufacturing

Skilled manufacturing is another area that is expected to grow in the regional job market, especially in the oil and gas industry. Expected job growth in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, according to the 2012 Economic Census Advance, is good news for Northwest Florida. “The market for drilling is moving toward the central Gulf and Pensacola is right there,” said Buddy McCormick, vice president of Offshore Inland, which operates out of the Port of Pensacola. Offshore Inland doesn’t drill for oil and gas in the Gulf, but it helps maintain and service vessels that do. The vessels are hard to miss at the port. Ships like Global 1200, a deep-water, pipe-laying ship with 12-story-high cranes, dominate the downtown skyline at the port. Those ships mean money not only for Offshore Inland, but also nearby businesses. Offshore Inland started operations at the port in 2008. Officials say they chose Pensacola over Mississippi because it’s an easy port to navigate and is centrally located for the drilling lease areas opening up in the Gulf of Mexico. The lease includes the promise to add at least 100 jobs with an average wage of more than $43,000 a year. McCormick is confident his company can fulfill the commitment based on the growing demands of the oil and gas industry. Dave Ivey is an example of the kind of opportunity the oil and gas industry can offer. The Munson native spent eight months a year traveling to find work before he latched onto his new gig as a welder for Offshore Inland four years ago. Now he can support his family and was home this year to see his daughter graduate from Baker High School. “I get to go home every night and be with my family; that’s the main thing for me,” Ivey said. “I was missing my daughter growing up and I got to actually raise her the last four years.” More good economic news is on the way, now that a new deal promises to bring about 200 jobs to the port. Offshore Inland is partnering with Houston-based DeepFlex to make flexible pipe used in deepwater industries. Renovations at an existing warehouse at the port will allow the companies to manufacture up to 62 miles of pipe a year.

Aeronautics and tech

Pensacola city leaders also see potential for growth in the aeronautical industry. It not only provides higher-paying jobs, but many in the local workforce have the skills needed for the positions. “The potential is great,” said City Administrator Colleen Castille. “We already have an experienced workforce that is coming out of the military, so it’s not just Pensacola, it’s a regional workforce allocation.” In March, about 300 people turned out for the ST Aerospace job fair, a company that performs aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul. The city is finalizing a deal with the Mobile-based business to build a $37 million facility adjacent to the Pensacola International Airport. Some 300 jobs are expected to come with it. Besides aerospace, several other technology-related industries are planting seeds that are taking root locally. They include cybersecurity, computer-generated manufacturing, as well as trade and logistics.

Finance sector

Local schools and colleges are providing more educational and training opportunities in these areas, but for the most part the finance industry remains one of the most viable industries in Northwest Florida, thanks to Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal began operations at the Heritage Oaks Campus in Beulah in 2003 with 11 employees. The original plan included a 300-seat call center. Since then, Navy Federal has expanded to include all major business units. There now are about 3,400 employees, with plans to add 1,500 jobs in three to five years. In 2012, Navy Federal bought the adjoining 240 acres from 4-H and developed a master plan for future expansion. Phase I includes two buildings, a central energy plant, auditorium, parking structure and recreation area. Construction should be completed by early 2016. Deborah Calder, senior vice president for Navy Federal, said a quality workforce is one of the reasons the company chose Pensacola. Navy Federal averages more than 1,000 applicants a month, but there are some concerns about finding the right employees in the future, Calder said. “Our talent pool right now is great,” Calder said. “What I have to think about is 10 years down the road, what is that talent pool going to look like?” Calder said. Calder said they had a relocation blitz for current employees and many came from some of the top school districts in the country. Many chose to live in Pace and Gulf Breeze in Santa Rosa County. While Escambia County has some A schools, the majority are average or below average, compared to Santa Rosa County, which boasts some of the best schools in the state. The issue of quality education in Escambia County is too important for local business leaders to ignore, Calder believes. Without a healthy, educated workforce, economic development will be grim for any industry in Pensacola. Calder wants to see the top 10 industries in the area meet with local educators. “I worry about that for us from a labor-pool perspective for two reasons,” Calder said. “Our talent will continue to be educated here. Will they still be what we’re seeing today? Then there’s economic development as a whole. “We want to see other industries thrive in Pensacola because then their kids will be educated here and their spouses and they might come to work for Navy Federal,” Calder said. Navy Federal has a strong partnership with the UWF to assist with certificate programs, host virtual classes and tailor curriculum to meet the company’s needs. In fact, the Heritage Oaks site is a satellite campus for UWF. PSC and vocational schools such as George Stone are also designing some of their programs to meet the growing demands of the changing market.

Workforce education and support

That focus on workforce development will need to be even stronger in the years to come if the area is to prosper. Sometimes workforce development means tailoring education to include skills outside the technical requirement of a job. For example, administrators of the HPOG program at PSC found that students often need support in basics such as time and money management. They often have difficulty planning for the day, much less their future, so administrators set up a network of services and case managers to help with childcare, gas, utility bills and emotional support. “I think it helps them and our community is going to be richer,” PSC’s Samuels said. “If we can help them break out of (the cycle of poverty), they become a giver to the community. We can then focus our resources on others who need more help than they will need.”

Setting priorities as a region

Business leaders including Calder and Jerry Maygarden, president of the Greater Pensacola Chamber, believe the region needs to set priorities to address its most fundamental challenges. They believe the community needs to create a broad strategy that provides opportunities for middle- and lower-class residents. Helping residents like Rasheed succeed helps the entire Pensacola community. Rasheed is the first in her family to earn a college degree. She works two nursing jobs and no longer relies on government assistance. She is saving money to buy her first house. And she is showing her children a better way to live, something she gives credit to the HPOG program for helping her do. Rasheed recalled other women in her classes who once were living in public housing but now, with more education and better jobs, have transitioned to bigger dreams and better lives. “The goal is not to get there and stay there,” Rasheed said. “It’s about getting there, getting a little help, and moving on.”

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