Tampa Not Attracting Young Professionals
I’ve been seeing this story float around the local sites and I finally got around to reading it. Forbes Magazine has chosen Tampa as the worst city in the U. S. for young professionals. Reports like this tend to be less than scientific. A bit like the “best beach in the world” kind of thing. But it brings up some valid issues that Tampa should look at.
Primarily, it mentions a lack of top companies:
Tampa lags when it comes to innovation precisely because it hasn’t been able to attract or foster top companies or the best young talent.
Local business leaders, politicians, journalists and residents are well aware of the problem and what it means for Tampa’s future, but fixing it is a daunting task. Of the 400 best big companies and 200 best small companies, as rated by Forbes, only one calls Tampa home, Sykes Enterprises (nasdaq: SYKE - news - people ), which ironically is one of the leading providers of business process outsourcing services. Without a host of top companies, it’s difficult for a city to attract the best talent. But without the best young talent, it’s difficult to develop world-class companies.
And without innovative or technology based companies, it’s harder to find higher paying jobs in the area. Maybe we shouldn’t get so excited by Ikea coming to town when Jabil is threatening to leave the area. People who work at Wal-Mart don’t shop at Ikea too much. But young professionals do. We need a balance.
The other main point it makes is that education:
Nearby University of South Florida is a fine school that produces plenty of graduates who go on to do great things, but in terms of research capabilities and reputation, it isn’t on the level of a Stanford or Harvard.
It’s a little unrealistic to think that U.S.F. will ever be on a par with Harvard or Stanford, considering much of their appeal is vanity and status, but other cities like Austin manage to do very well with lesser known but academically good schools. U.S.F. was once an upcoming research institution, but it has since faltered on this point.
One of the weaknesses of U.S.F is it’s location. It’s not quite a land grant university out in the idyllic countryside not is it in a bustling urban center. Maybe a “South Tampa” campus could focus on research and draw more students looking for the traditional community lifestyle with walkable streets.
