Tech Talent Coalition Hosts June Meeting at Amazon HQ

The Tech Talent Coalition, the employer-led coalition under Miami Tech Works, hosted its June meeting at Amazon HQ in Wynwood. A standing room-only crowd of 100+ employers, recruiters, workforce development professionals, educators, and students attended to hear important updates on South Florida’s tech talent pipeline development and learn about upcoming initiatives and priorities. Amazon was a founding member of the Tech Talent Coalition, with the tireless support of AWS Enterprise Account Executive Selenis Leguisamon, who not only chairs the Tech Skills Gap Committee but also organized this month’s meeting at the company’s offices.

This was the 16th Tech Talent Coalition in-person meeting, dating back to 2022. More than 200 meetings and events have now been hosted through Miami Tech Works and the Coalition.

AI Employer Upskilling in the Spotlight

Miami Tech Works ’Senior Director Terri-Ann Brown opened the event by highlighting the recent EPIC Challenge program (hyperlink to other article), which gave 52 students a chance to work on real-world projects at 13 local employers — both record numbers for this third cohort.

Terri then provided an update on the ongoing AI Upskilling Accelerator, a program that is giving 120 employees at local companies a chance to learn AI skills through certification or associate degree programs at Miami Dade College, at no cost to employers. In a survey of 20 employers, 76% of participating employees were in executive, senior, or managerial roles, with professional (29%) and director (20%) roles accounting for nearly half of all participants. The average age of a participating employee was 49. These data points show a clear demand for AI training for senior executives to better understand AI and integrate it into their companies. From an industry reach perspective, manufacturing had the highest participation (41%), followed by hospitality (37%), nonprofit (14%), telecommunications (4%), construction (2%), and banking (2%). These numbers showcase how AI skills are in demand across a wide range of industries and are no longer limited to tech companies.

To continue this momentum, Terri shared that Miami Dade College, along with Miami Tech Works and the Tech Talent Coalition, is building a coalition of South Florida employers to submit a strong, regionally grounded proposal for $6M in new funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) targeted at AI upskilling. To support this effort, attendees and local employers are being asked to submit letters outlining their AI upskilling needs, the roles and functions that apply, and their commitment to providing work-based learning opportunities for students in AI-related programs at local universities, colleges, and training providers. Learn more by visiting this link AI Upskill Accelerator Partner Interest Form  – Collaboration

The Growing Impact of AI on Employers and Hiring

After an introduction by Leguisamon, she helped lead a panel with leaders from AWS, Lennar, Accelya, and Entangled Solutions Group focused on future job opportunities and the impact of AI. The panel included:

• Nadesha Ranasinghe – Chief Architecture & Cloud Officer, Accelya

• John Doyle Doyle – SVP, Cloud Operations & Security, Accelya

• William Ramirez Ramirez

• Dionne Merritt Merritt – Head of Privacy, Lennar

• Robert Loredo Loredo – Founder and CEO, Entangled Solutions Group

All panelists stressed the importance of building a strong foundation in computer science, engineering, or data science, with AI skills focused on the industry or job role students are pursuing. Doing an internship or another work-based learning project is critical, as is continuing to develop and expand skill sets outside the classroom or workplace.

For company leaders, panelists noted it was important to understand how AI best applies to specific job functions or day-to-day work before looking for talent or taking advantage of AI upskilling programs. They also noted that understanding which AI tools are best suited, the costs and business models involved, and how to track or measure ROI were all important considerations.

All agreed that adding AI without a plan, or with only cost-cutting or efficiency as a goal, is where many companies and leaders fail. Testing AI, running pilots, and understanding the impact on the current workforce are critical. Job replacement or elimination came up as a topic, but panelists urged employers to consider whether upskilling could accomplish the same thing, or whether new roles should be created to work alongside or train the AI or agents.

There was an active discussion about how smaller and mid-sized companies compete for AI talent and how much they should invest in it now. Big tech companies are scooping up AI talent, have done more advanced planning for talent acquisition and upskilling, and have more budget available to pay for the right or best talent. The advice for smaller and mid-sized companies was to first gain a better understanding of which AI tools and capabilities are needed and whether existing employees can acquire the necessary skills. If not, then be strategic about which job functions or skills are the best fit, and hyper-target recruiting efforts around those, working with local universities, colleges, and training providers.

A final point discussed by the panel was that employers need to look more to the future, rather than the day-to-day impact and application of AI. They need to understand how industries are changing, what future roles or applications might be around the corner, and how to keep track of the ever-changing political and regulatory landscape. There will be many challenges, and the way of doing business today may be very different in the near future — the companies that plan now will succeed.

What’s Ahead

The Tech Talent Coalition takes a break for the summer months, with the next meeting planned for late August or early September. However, talent and skill development remain an ongoing priority for employers, and training programs run year-round.

Miami Tech Works will soon host its next Tech Talent Connect event to match graduating students with employers and provide students with resources on resume writing, interviewing, work-based learning opportunities, and wraparound support.

The new AI Talent Coalition letter campaign is underway, with a July 2 deadline for employers to submit their AI talent and skill needs. The grant for the AI upskilling funds will be submitted to the EDA shortly after that deadline.

Keep an eye out for the next cohort for the EPIC Student Challenge. Interested employers can learn more at the following link and begin planning their applications and projects for the fall.