UWF Haas Center research fuels new campaign showcasing Northwest Florida’s military talent

The University of West Florida Haas Center has provided critical research driving a new regional campaign, "Military Talent: Mission-Ready Veterans, Business-Ready Results," launched by Florida's Great Northwest. The initiative highlights the extraordinary value of Northwest Florida's military community - particularly transitioning service members and veterans - who offer mission-ready skills and business-ready results to employers.

Funded by the FloridaCommerce Defense Reinvestment Grant and Florida's Great Northwest, the UWF Haas Center's comprehensive dashboard delivers insights regarding the region's military workforce. The data is now available on FGNW's Military Talent Dashboard, serving as a strategic tool for economic development, recruitment and retention of top-tier talent in the 13-county region.

"The University of West Florida is proud to play a role in strengthening the economic vitality of our region through data-driven research," said UWF Interim President Manny Diaz Jr. "Our work with Florida's Great Northwest showcases how the UWF Haas Center can partner with community and industry leaders to demonstrate the value our veterans bring to our economy."

Key findings from the Haas Center's research include:

• An average of 5,200 service members transition out of Northwest Florida's military installations each year, far exceeding previous estimates.
• Nearly 60% hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
• More than 47% plan to remain in the region after service, with an additional 19% undecided.

"I want to commend Florida's Great Northwest for launching this campaign, a campaign laser-focused on unlocking opportunity for our veterans and for our economy," said Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly. "Northwest Florida has long been a center of defense excellence, supporting our heroes and their families, and FloridaCommerce was grateful to have supported this endeavor with a Defense Reinvestment Grant to seed the necessary research for this campaign to recruit and retain our military expertise in the civilian workforce."

The Military Talent Dashboard provides a dynamic, data-driven view of the region's military separation trends, educational attainment and workforce readiness. It stands as a prime example of how research at UWF can directly support regional economic development.

"This data is a game-changer, allowing us to powerfully describe this pool of pre-trained, disciplined, untapped talent to companies in our target industry sectors," said Jennifer Conoley, President & CEO of Florida's Great Northwest. "The Military Talent Dashboard underscores Northwest Florida's strategic advantage as a place where employers have access to highly-skilled professionals who are ready for their next career."

UWF is committed to the region's economic success, and projects like this exemplify the power of collaboration between higher education, industry and community partners.

"These findings give Northwest Florida an incredible opportunity to connect highly skilled, disciplined and experienced professionals with employers across our target industries," said Nicole Gislason, executive director of the UWF Haas Center. "This research demonstrates the workforce gains our businesses experience as they expand across the northern Gulf Coast."

To explore the dashboard and learn more about the campaign, visit fgnwtalent.com.

For more information on the UWF Haas Center, visit uwf.edu/haas.