BY Marcia Heroux Pounds
According to a recent study by Georgetown University, which was highlighted in the August 4th issue of South Florida Sun-sentinel, “between 2010 and 2020, the state will add 2.9 million job vacancies from new jobs and retiring workers. Of these, almost half will be jobs for high school graduates and dropouts rather than more educated workers.” Journalist Marcia Heroux Pounds interviewed WEG Founder and Principal Economic Advisor and St. Thomas University School of Business Dean, Tony Villamil on the state’s main challenges which includes “investing in education to lay the foundation for high-wage jobs.” Villamil said that in Florida, “there continues to be a mismatch between jobs and skills in Florida,” adding that, “there are a lot of jobs available, but they tend to be in areas that pay relatively lower wages.” Villamil said that Florida does not “invest in talent and education… we talk the talk, but we don’t walk the walk.,” citing this year’s $300 million in cuts for Florida’s 11 public universities.
