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Boca Raton economic development office highlights recruitment, workforce ties and targeted outreach
Summary
The city's economic development manager described recruitment and retention efforts, a 5,000-contact outreach list for targeted follow-up, partnerships with FAU and CareerSource, local branding and workforce programs, and claimed outcomes including about 13,000 jobs retained or created since the initiative began.
Jessica Dalbecchio of Boca Raton’s Office of Economic Development told the council Aug. 26 the office is pursuing a seven-pronged strategy that emphasizes business recruitment, retention and workforce development and highlighted several outreach and partnership tactics.
Dalbecchio said the city has developed a list of roughly 5,000 contacts in target markets (initially by ZIP code) and plans targeted follow-up using segmented messaging (for example, hedge funds or private-equity firms). She described a multipronged marketing approach that includes sponsorships and earned media placements, use of CoStar for site availability and a proposed sustainability incentive to attract clean-tech and green companies.
Business retention and expansion were presented as the most important work: the office provides ombudsman services with permitting and zoning, connects companies with utilities and university partners, and runs CEO peer-to-peer introductions. Partnerships include Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach State College, Lynn University and CareerSource of Palm Beach County; CareerSource programs include on-the-job training grants that reimburse employers for hiring and training workers.
Dalbecchio cited cumulative outcomes and pipeline work: she told the council the office has helped retain or create about 13,000 jobs since the program began, and said three confidential recruitment projects could yield about 1,000 potential new jobs. She acknowledged a lag between outreach and realized relocations and said the office measures results through leasing and website metrics, QR-code hits, and partner feedback.
Council members asked about data segmentation, the share of jobs that represent expansions of existing employers, and how many of the area’s workers actually live in Boca Raton; Dalbecchio said she can provide follow-up data on those points and that many workers who work in Boca do not live in the city.
She also noted workforce initiatives with FAU and others (reverse-pitch competitions and internships) designed to align local graduates’ skills with employer needs and cited CareerSource’s role in job fairs and training.
