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Economic development office says outreach and recruitment yield new leads, workforce ties
Summary
Jessica Dalbecchio told council the economic development office has produced a 5,000-contact lead list, is pursuing three confidential recruitment projects (potentially ~1,000 jobs) and is expanding workforce partnerships with FAU, Lynn University and CareerSource Palm Beach County.
Jessica Dalbecchio, the city's economic development manager, briefed the council on outreach, recruitment and workforce initiatives intended to attract and retain companies and talent in Boca Raton.
Dalbecchio outlined seven core strategies (business recruitment, retention, expansion, workforce development among them), described marketing tactics including geofenced CoStar listings and a purchased 5,000-contact list for targeted outreach, and said the office is pursuing three confidential projects that collectively could yield roughly 1,000 jobs. "We are currently working 3 confidential projects... The potential of new jobs for those 3 projects is 1000 new jobs," she said.
She described partnerships with local universities, CareerSource Palm Beach County and other organizations for workforce development, reverse-pitch competitions to match students with employer problems, and a range of retention activities including ombudsman assistance with permitting and introductions to utilities and property owners. Dalbecchio reported metrics for the past nine months: assistance to businesses, peer-to-peer introductions, ribbon cuttings and a single-year snapshot of leasing activity.
Councilors asked about measurements of return on investment, segmentation of leads (hedge funds, private equity) and how the office tracks inbound interest; Dalbecchio said the office uses QR codes, Google Analytics and targeted follow-up but that identifying individual respondents requires further outreach and data scrubbing.
Dalbecchio said the office is coordinating with partners to make Boca Raton more attractive to companies and workers while paying attention to housing and education issues that affect recruitment and retention.
