By: Kevin Gehrke, Business Development Manager, Applied Science As we slowly exit the COVID-19 pandemic, markets will begin to open bringing rise to the need for labor, more importantly, skilled labor. In preparation, we, as a community, need to understand how the labor market has changed and if the change will remain permanent. Many industries […]

Shanea Wilks, Senior Coordinator Last week, the Leon County School Board (LCS) approved changes to their small business criteria to align more closely with OEV’s and the Office of Supplier Diversity’s Small Business Enterprise (SBE) criteria. As a direct result, small businesses working with the State, City, County, Blueprint, and LCS will now follow the […]

Richard Fetchick, Business Intelligence Manager The Covid-19 pandemic created a fast-acting recession with immediate impacts to employment and business bottom lines. Unlike the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis, Leon County’s employment dipped by 20,000 in April 2020 – just the second month of the crisis – whereas employment hit its low point following the sub-prime crisis […]

Drew Dietrich, Deputy Director Tallahassee is known for many things – endless outdoor adventures, Southern Hospitality, unrivaled festivals, and you guessed it, college football. But hiding just beneath the surface is a little known truth – there’s an awful lot of knowledgeable and skilled people walking around. In 2020, Tallahassee ranked as the 17th most […]

Richard Fetchick, Business Intelligence Manager In an effort to improve the re-entry pipeline for the formerly incarnated, Leon County Government and the Office of Economic Vitality partnered with MIT Sloan School of Management-USA Lab. This study included housing, transportation, counseling, and career opportunities. From the USA Lab Partnership, the importance of connecting re-entering citizens to […]

Kevin Gehrke, Business Development Manager, Applied Science As most in the area know, Tallahassee is home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, affectionately known as “The MagLab”.  However, what many may not realize is Tallahassee is also home to other organizations that work and specialize in magnetics.  The advantage of having multiple magnetics organizations […]

Richard Fetchick Tallahassee boasts great assets that serve as springboards to innovation. Florida A&M REACH, ACT House, Innovation Park, Domi Station, Tallahassee Community College Center for Innovation, and Florida State equip thousands of bright minds every year with tools that can lead to new, commercializable ideas. In 2019, Leon-County-based tech startups brought in $823,000 in […]

As a catalyst for change, the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality (OEV) is charged with developing programs and initiatives that support a vibrant economic ecosystem that leverages ideas and innovations throughout the community. To be effective, it must have sound, relevant information about the economic and demographic history of the region, current drivers of […]

The Urban Vitality Job Creation Pilot Program is a locally-based program designed to spur job creation, encourage employment stability, and promote economic vitality in the Promise Zone area. If you are a small business in or relocating to this area that plans to hire new employees in 2018, you may be eligible to participate in […]

By TOM FLANIGAN • NOV 14, 2017 This is Startup Week in Tallahassee. The observance is intended to promote more entrepreneurship and business creativity. One of the occasion’s first events took place on Monday (11/13) morning and focused on local small businesses that actually make things. A Capital City mother/daughter team was talking about the […]