Skip to Main Content. Please Contact Us if there is anything we can do to improve the Accessibility of this page.

GOVERNOR CRIST CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING FLORIDA’S TALENT SUPPLY CHAIN

~~ ~Education and workforce development partners to work with business leaders to improve Florida’s 8th-ranked education system~ ~~

January 14, 2010

Contact:

GOVERNOR’S PRESS OFFICE
(850) 488-5394

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today called on Florida’s Talent Supply Chain – the Agency for Workforce Innovation, Department of Education, Board of Governors and Workforce Florida – to embrace a new era of collaboration by formally partnering with Florida’s business leaders to develop a strategic plan to ensure Florida’s workforce is equipped to meet the demands of a global, knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The shared strategy will ensure students can access educational opportunities and gain skills that will increase Florida’s economic competitiveness.

“In order to be productive and competitive, Florida businesses need a workforce prepared for today’s opportunities that is also able to adapt to future trends,” Governor Crist said. “We need schools at every level – pre-kindergarten through Ph.D. – to feed the talent pool of Florida’s workforce.”

Governor Crist made the announcement as Susan Story, chair of the Florida Council of 100, and Steve Halverson, chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, unveiled their Closing the Talent Gap: A Business Perspective report. The business leaders outlined their recommendations for achieving a highly skilled and educated workforce that is able to drive sustainable economic development and a diversified economy. Governor Crist also thanked former Governor Jeb Bush and the Foundation for Florida’s Future for their contributions to the report.

Governor Crist called on the Legislature to embrace Florida’s Talent Supply Chain, allowing results to be tracked and improvements to be made for decades to come. Each member of the Talent Supply Chain currently coordinates a level of education and workforce development as follows:

· Voluntary Pre-kindergarten education is coordinated by the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

· Education in kindergarten through community college is coordinated by the Department of Education.

· The state university system is coordinated by the Board of Governors.

· Florida’s workforce system is coordinated by Workforce Florida Inc.

Collaboration among Florida’s Talent Supply Chain members will strengthen the major educational sectors and create an environment that drives a knowledge-based economy, focusing on high-skill subject areas such as mathematics and science.

Today’s’ announcement to strengthen Florida’s Talent Supply Chain complements Florida’s Race to the Top application that Governor Crist will sign before Tuesday, January 19, 2010. Florida is competing for hundreds of millions of federal education dollars to further increase student achievement, teacher effectiveness and the talent pool of our graduates and workforce. The Governor commented that Florida’s past education reform efforts have positioned the Sunshine State to succeed in the Race to the Top competition.

Governor Crist also announced Education Week’s 2010 Quality Counts number-eight ranking of Florida’s education system. The ranking indicates Florida’s decade of educational progress continued this year with a jump from last year’s number-10 ranking. The 2010 Quality Counts: Fresh Course, Swift Current report tracks state policies and performance across key areas of education and assigns each state with an overall point total to signify their education standing in the nation.