Job News: TCS expanding into Tampa Bay Area; Mosaic move anticipated

Tata Consultancy Services has become the third-party administrator of Transamerica’s insurance and annuity products, a move that has resulted in the transfer of more than 430 former Transamerica employees to TCS in St. Petersburg.

“This enables Transamerica to rapidly enhance its digital capabilities, simplify the service of more than 10 million policies into a single integrated modern platform, and drive greater sustainable growth opportunities through superior customer experiences,” says Balaji Ganapathy, TCS’s Head of HR Workforce Effectiveness.

TCS, a major creator of U.S. IT services jobs, has invested nearly $3 billion in the United States in the last three years.

“Hiring has been happening since April for several technology and operations roles. As and when new positions open up, we will continue to hire,” Ganapathy says.

Plans call for expanding the company's educational programs in the area. “As part of TCS's ongoing investment in the region, we plan to expand our flagship goIT education program, which launched successfully last year in St. Petersburg,” Ganapathy says. “The program has been inspiring underserved youth to explore app development, design thinking, and technology careers since 2009.”

The company will be partnering with local schools and youth-serving organizations to encourage tech-related careers.

It also will be starting its Ignite My Future in School program in the area soon, although a timeline wasn’t available. Discovery Education in Florida provides free professional development and digital resources to educators. The goal is to integrate computational thinking into all subjects to build that foundational skill.

“Even though we have not yet formally launched the Ignite My Future in Schools program in Florida, local teachers are already downloading and implementing the program into their classrooms,” Ganapathy says. “In fact, Florida is in the top 10 states (#7) for downloading the curriculum, helping to achieve the program’s goal of reaching 20,000 educators and 1 million students over a five-year period.”

The agreement comes at a time when company expansions and relocations are bringing a substantial number of new jobs to the Tampa Bay market. The Tampa area added 33,300 new jobs in the private sector during the last year, making it second to Orlando as the highest metro area statewide for job creation, according to a May 18 announcement by Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The highest number of jobs were in leisure and hospitality, with 9,300, followed by education and health services, 6,300, and financial activities, 6,200.

Here’s a look at some other opportunities in Tampa Bay.

The Mosaic Company, a Fortune 500 company based in Plymouth, MN, has decided to move its headquarters to Hillsborough County. The company announced in May that it would move its headquarters, senior executives and related functions to Hillsborough to improve access to its new acquisition, the Brazilian fertilizer company Vale Fertilizantes. Among the anticipated benefits are cost savings and the ability to magnify its presence in Central Florida, where it is a large employer with a significant economic impact. Details of the move still were under consideration. Follow Innovation & Job News in 83 Degrees for future career possibilities.

• A custom battery firm, Resistacap Energy Products, will be moving its headquarters from Huntsville, AL, to Hillsborough County. The company announced in May it will hire 100 local employees for a variety of positions including assembly, soldering, welding and accounting and invest up to $500,000 in equipment and building renovation. Resistacap provides custom batteries, battery packs, and chargers, including leading-edge products to the medical, military and aerospace, safety and hand-held electronics industries. The new headquarters will be at 12180 Race Track Road.

• A U.K.-based recruiting company, which specializes in the technology sector, has chosen Tampa for a new office, with plans to hire 100 employees, according to a May announcement. Frank Recruitment Group, which chose Tampa because of its fast-growing technology labor pool, provides full training to its sales associates. The office is in downtown Tampa at 501 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Lockheed Martin has opened a new manufacturing facility in Pinellas Park and is expected to hire more than 80 by mid-2019. The move follows the addition of 30 jobs late last year for increased F-35 production. The company has added an additional 65,500 square feet of manufacturing and office space. The Bethesda, MD-based security and aerospace company employs about 14,400 in Florida; the new jobs will boost Pinellas Park’s numbers from 270 to 350.

• An innovative Danish designer and manufacturer has chosen Tampa for its first U.S. subsidiary. The company Liftup USA, which helps the disabled, injured and elderly achieve greater mobility, announced in May that it would hire 20 people to fill a variety of positions. Liftup, which will be investing up to $350,000, was expecting to hire regional distribution managers, logistics managers, sales professionals, and production and warehouse associates. The parent corporation, Liftup A/S, is based in Stoevring, Denmark.
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Read more articles by Cheryl Rogers.

Cheryl Rogers is a freelance writer and editor who enjoys writing about careers. An ebook author, she also writes Bible Camp Mystery series that shares her faith. She is publisher of New Christian Books Online Magazine and founder of the Mentor Me Career Network, a free online community, offering career consulting, coaching and career information. Now a wife and mother, Cheryl discovered her love of writing as a child when she became enthralled with Nancy Drew mysteries. She earned her bachelor's degree in Journalism and Sociology from Loyola University in New Orleans. While working at Loyola's Personnel Office, she discovered her passion for helping others find jobs. A Miami native, Cheryl moved to the Temple Terrace area in 1985 to work for the former Tampa Tribune