Business Development Team Plays Matchmaker for Local Universities, Employers

December 3, 2014

It’s a story reported often in the news: College graduates without relevant work experience are having a difficult time landing jobs in their field, while employers struggle to fill many of the open positions they have available. While there’s no all-purpose fix for this complex problem, the EDC’s Business Development Team has taken significant steps toward a solution by strengthening relationships between area employers and our number one source of new talent: local universities and community colleges.
 
In October, EDC Business Development Manager Brandon Hanna-Metz helped organize the Career and Veteran Services Tour held at Citi’s offices in Tampa. At the meeting, career and veteran services professionals from the University of South Florida, University of Tampa, St. Leo University, and Hillsborough Community College met with staff members representing various divisions of Citi to learn more about career options available for their students.
 
“Local companies like Citi love to hire the talented graduates that our colleges and universities produce,” Hanna-Metz said. “Unfortunately, they don’t always have a strong connection with those institutions or a grasp of the diverse skills and training their students have to offer. We’re in a position to bring these parties together and build relationships that help businesses thrive and universities place students in great jobs after graduation.”
 
During the three-hour event, career and veteran services professionals toured the state-of-the-art campus and learned about the career options available at Citi.
 
Previous Career and Veteran Services Tours have taken place at USAA, and the EDC welcomes the opportunity to organize more of them with area employers.
 
“The Business Development team is here as a resource for local companies,” says Hanna-Metz. “We’re not limited to strictly incentives or workforce training. Some of the most talented students in the country are graduating from USF, UT, St. Leo, and HCC. We want to help Tampa and Hillsborough County businesses connect with these students while they are still in school, so that they’ll have greater access to them once they’re ready to launch their careers.”