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Jacksonville identifies industries ripe for growth

Published on March 3, 2023 at 1:15 pm
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The Jax Chamber’s economic development arm has established a five-year plan focused on regional collaboration to address underemployment across seven counties: Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns.

A consulting firm for JAX USA identified agribusiness, biomedical research and corporate operations as target industries for growth. Annie Lebesch, JAX USA’s vice president of talent development, said local schools and colleges are a primary tool for training and recruiting to these sectors.

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“It’s all about helping our residents, but also our school districts and the colleges that we work with understand where the growth is coming with these businesses, what the career pathways are within those businesses and what the opportunities are,” Lebesch said.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates more than 32,000 people moved to Northeast Florida between April 2020 and July 2021 — primarily from the Midwest, New York and Greater Washington, D.C.


author image Reporter email Will Brown is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Will Brown is a reporter and photographer focusing on issues related to race and inequality, as well as sports and photography. He originally joined Jacksonville Today as a Report for America corps member. Will previously reported for the Jacksonville Business Journal, The St. Augustine Record, Victoria (Texas) Advocate and the Tallahassee Democrat. His accolades over his nearly 20-year career include photography for the Health News Florida’s national Murrow Award-winning series “Committed: How and Why Children Became the Fastest Growing Group Under Florida’s Baker Act.” Brown is a graduate of Florida A&M University and has a master’s from the University of South Florida. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and soccer. He lives in Clay County with his wife and son.