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Letter to the editor

Q&A with Chris Hart, president/CEO of Workforce Florida

He'll use Tampa roots to retrain the state's workers

By Christina Rexrode, Times Staff Writer
Published November 25, 2007

At his old job, Chris Hart lured businesses to Florida.

Now he's working the other side of the fence, making sure those businesses can find decent workers once they get here.

Hart, a former state legislator with deep roots in Tampa, became president of Workforce Florida in Tallahassee this month. His task? Move the state's workers like they're pieces of a jigsaw puzzle: out of struggling industries and into fields that are growing, better paid and higher skilled.

Hart, 39, joins Workforce Florida from Enterprise Florida, another public-private organization aimed at economic development. Here are excerpts from his interview last week with the St. Petersburg Times:

Why do we need an agency like Workforce Florida?

When a business is looking to come to Florida, the first question they always ask us is about the work force. "What does your work force look like? Are they educated the way I need them to be educated? Do they have the certifications I need?"

The way the world used to work, people went where the businesses were. Now, the businesses go where the talent is.

Do out-of-state companies worry that Florida's talent is second rate?

I don't think we're seen as second rate at all. It isn't about trying to bring us up to par with other states and other countries, but to kind of look over the horizon (at demographic changes, emerging industries, etc.) to decipher what training is going to be needed to support the next activity.

What are those next big activities? What industries are going to create a lot of jobs here?

The energy industry - from line workers to plant workers and everything up and down the channel. There are several programs that are already in motion (to train energy workers): There's an Employ Florida Banner Center for energy at Lake-Sumter Community College that got under way this past spring. (The Banner Centers, which Workforce Florida rolled out last year, are state-funded programs that train workers in growing industries like aerospace, biotechnology and manufacturing.) There's also a Banner Center at UCF for alternative energy (in the works).

What else?

The other area that we're looking at is space. The space shuttle by 2010 will no longer be in existence (according to NASA's plans). The next generation of spacecraft will need fewer workers. That gives us a great opportunity, because we have some of the smartest people - they really are rocket scientists - who are now available.

What are you going to do with all those rocket scientists?

We're working with Enterprise Florida and Space Florida - they can help point out what businesses they (the scientists) can go to.

What about the Tampa Bay area's work force? What's our future in?

Tech and financial services. I see the University of South Florida and Moffitt Cancer Center and the fact that you have a lot of technology entrepreneurs. SRI is over there now in St. Pete; they're going to need some of the best and brightest, they're going to need lab technicians, chemists and engineers.

Do we really have that kind of talent here? Jimmy Wales is moving Wikipedia from St. Petersburg (to San Francisco) because - his words! - 'you go where the talent is.'

I don't think he was looking hard enough!

Florida is steadily losing jobs in manufacturing. Does that bother you, or would you say 'good riddance'?

I'd like to see a renewed interest in the state in manufacturing, but it's a clean manufacturing, a research and development manufacturing, not an easily copied type of manufacturing.

What do you mean by 'research and development manufacturing'?

Manufacturing new products and new processes. So mainly, those workers who are working to develop a new drug, or a new medical device. They would be manufacturing that not for mass distribution, because once you get to that point you've mechanized the process and that's something that you can bid on price - a lot of that is probably being done offshore.

You keep talking about knowledge-driven jobs. What about all our service jobs? Do you want to get rid of them?

Some people say they want those jobs to disappear, but tourism and agriculture are lifeblood in this state, and have been since the beginning of Florida's existence. They do provide a lot of jobs, directly and indirectly. That's a big part of who we are.

Christina Rexrode can be reached at rexrode@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8318.

Fast facts

About Chris Hart IV

Who he is: The new president and CEO of Workforce Florida

Age: 39

Personal: Grew up in Tampa. Married to Amy, a former elementary school teacher. Daughter, 12, and son, 8. Father, Chris Hart III, is a former Hillsborough County commissioner.

Background: Before coming to Workforce Florida, he was a senior vice president at Orlando-based Enterprise Florida, a public-private agency that helps businesses in life sciences, IT, aerospace and other high-growth industries move to the state. Hart, a Republican, served in the state House from 1998 to 2002, representing South Tampa and Town 'N Country. He sponsored the legislation that created Workforce Florida.

Fast facts

About Workforce Florida

Created: By Legislature in 2000 as a nonprofit, public-private organization in Tallahassee.

Role: Oversees state's two dozen work force boards, including WorkNet Pinellas and the Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance.

Mission: To prepare workers for better jobs in growing industries via training programs, grants and counseling services.

Size: About 25 employees. It will receive about $233-million in federal money this year, with most of it going directly to the regional work force boards.

[Last modified November 23, 2007, 19:20:54]