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Orlando Economic Partnership outlines wins, semiconductor strategy and workforce aims in county briefing
Summary
The Orlando Economic Partnership told the Orange County commissioners it has helped secure 200 projects creating about 30,000 jobs and $3.6 billion in direct capital investment over eight years, and described priorities including workforce development, site readiness and semiconductor attraction.
The Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP) presented a regional economic update to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on March 25, detailing business-attraction results, workforce efforts and a growing focus on semiconductors and site readiness.
What OEP reported: CEO Tim Giuliani said the partnership has announced roughly 200 projects over eight years leading to about 30,000 jobs and roughly $3.6 billion in direct capital investment in the region. He told the board that about 70% of OEP’s funding comes from private investment, with the remainder from local governments and federal grant awards for semiconductor-related work.
“When companies reach out to us, they get help evaluating locations, introductions, and workforce development support,” Giuliani said. He described recent major wins including Charles Schwab’s expansion of more than 800 jobs and more than $100 million of investment, other large corporate expansions, and an emerging technology ecosystem in cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing.
Semiconductor focus: OEP emphasized work to attract chip-related projects to Central Florida, describing the region’s power capacity and existing semiconductor employers (Mycros Components, Qorvo, AMD and Northrop Grumman). Giuliani said the partnership supports a regional approach to site readiness (“DIRTT”), and that OEP helped coordinate roughly $500 million in state and federal investment related to the NeoCity semiconductor initiatives in recent years.
Workforce and education: Neil Hamilton, OEP’s vice president for research, reviewed recent labor-market trends and noted tight labor supply in Orange County with about 39,000 job postings and 25,000 unemployed people in recent data — an indicator of a tight market. Hamilton said local labor growth has moderated from 2023’s pace and that population growth in recent years has shifted toward some adjacent counties and international migration.
Board response: Commissioners asked about funding, site readiness and how the partnership works with community colleges and local government. Several commissioners urged more focus on adaptive reuse, transit-oriented development and housing near job centers, and asked OEP to detail the private-to-public return on investment for county funding.
OEP requests and next steps: Giuliani said OEP is tracking state and federal priorities, will continue advocacy for transportation and education funding (Valencia College and UCF requests were mentioned), and invited commissioners to district briefings on site readiness and local workforce needs. The partnership also said it will keep working with county staff on semiconductor-site strategies and the DIRTT initiative to assemble job-ready sites.
Ending: Commissioners thanked OEP for the update and asked staff to follow up on district-level site briefings and additional data. The board did not take formal action on the presentation.
