Nation’s TOP TECH GRADS COULD BE HEADED
TO FLORIDA AFTER UNIVERSITY RECRUITMENT
TRIP THIS WEEK

Building on an initiative started last year, FHTCC makes connections between top university career center directors and Corridor companies looking to hire grads

TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 26, 2008) – On Thursday and Friday, career center directors from 80 of the nation’s top universities will converge on the Tampa Convention Center to establish hiring connections for their top students with Florida companies during Career Expo ’08, a one-of-its-kind national conference – taking place in expanded form during its second year.

Nearly half of U.S. News & World Report’s top 35 schools including, Princeton, NYU, MIT, Georgia Tech, Cornell, Notre Dame and Purdue as well as University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and University of Florida will be represented at the Expo.

“The increase in world-renowned universities visiting the Florida High Tech Corridor this year is a testament to the success of our region’s attractive workforce initiatives and growing tech industry,” said Randy Berridge, president of the sponsoring Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC).  “Corridor companies of all shapes and sizes will make connections with visiting career center directors to establish a hiring pool of talented out-of-state students.”

The three-day event will begin on the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 27, with an opening reception at the Embassy Suites – Downtown Convention Center.  The event’s second and third days will feature individual meetings between Corridor employers and career center directors, presentations and informal gatherings at the Tampa Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A.  John Adams, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida, will serve as the keynote speaker at the opening luncheon on Thursday and Chris Hart, president and CEO of Workforce Florida, will serve as the keynote speaker at the closing luncheon on Friday. This year the event also features several informal networking opportunities, including a reception at the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa.

The attending career center directors provide career advice to thousands of highly skilled graduates each year, and by bringing them to the Florida High Tech Corridor in one trip, FHTCC hopes to reach a large audience of potential future hires.  For a complete list of registered universities, visit http://www.floridahightech.com/careerExpo/universities2.html.

“By showing career center directors the growth and diversity of high tech employers and the amazing research taking place here, we hope that the Corridor will be one of the places they recommend to their students seeking high tech jobs,” said Berridge.

Career Expo was established last year as an initiative of FHTCC to attract, retain and grow high tech industry in a 23-county region in the heart of Florida.  Companies scheduled to participate include, Lockheed Martin, Electronic Arts, Harris Corporation, Fiserv, SAIC, Enporion, Progress Energy, Publix, FARO Technologies, Geico and more than 60 others, as well as representatives from county government and school systems.

“The three Corridor universities – UCF, USF and UF – together produce some of the finest applicants to our workforce, yet the projected growth of companies in our region requires us to be constantly casting our net far and wide,” said Chris Steinocher, chief operating officer and senior vice president of marketing for the Tampa Bay Partnership and chairman of the Corridor Council’s marketing committee.

“Not only will opening the lines of hiring between some of the nation’s top universities outside the Corridor enhance our workforce, but it will also strengthen our economy and provide prime candidates for graduate education at our three Corridor universities,” said Steinocher.

About FHTCC
The Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC) is an economic development initiative of the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF) whose mission is to attract, retain and grow high tech industry and to develop the workforce to support those industries in the 23-county Corridor.

A partnership involving more than 20 local and regional economic development organizations (EDOs) and 14 community colleges, the Council is co-chaired by the presidents of UCF, USF and UF.  The Council includes the presidents of two of the community colleges, the president of Florida Institute of Technology and representatives of high tech industry. 

The unique partnership has resulted in a strategic approach to high tech economic development that involves matching funds research, workforce development and a marketing program leveraging governmental, EDO and corporate budgets on a regional rather than local basis.