JPMorgan & Chase invests $300,000 to Tampa Bay Partnership

TAMPA — JPMorgan Chase & Co. is investing $300,000 in the Tampa Bay Partnership's nonprofit arm, the company announced Tuesday. The money will be used to look at whether Tampa Bay is producing enough skilled workers to fuel its growth and figure out how to bridge any gaps.

"We'll begin to realign the relationship in Tampa Bay between the educational institutions and create a much more productive workforce and economy," Rick Homans, president and CEO of Tampa Bay Partnership, said.

The effort, led by the partnership's Regional Talent Working Group, will have three phases. First, the group will work to understand the programs that produce workers — such as education institutions and internship programs — and identify five of the most-affected industries. Then, one industry will be chosen and the group will work with employers to determine their needs. Finally, it will devise a strategy and performance metrics to build a more effective pipeline to the chosen industry and businesses.

Dr. Judy Genshaft, president of the University of South Florida, co-chairs the group with Troy Taylor, CEO of Coca-Cola Beverages Florida.

The initiative was spurred by a 2018 benchmark report produced by the Tampa Bay Partnership, Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and United Way Suncoast. Tampa Bay, the report found, trailed other comparable metro areas in education levels of employees, and had a high percentage of people age 16 to 24 who were not participating in the workforce.

"We took that as a wake-up call," Rick said, "That's exactly what these kinds of reports are meant to do."

JPMorgan Chase has about 5,000 employees in Tampa Bay.

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Contact this reporter at mcarollo@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacarollo.