USF College of Business, DTCC Partner To Further Workforce Development

Megan Hendricks | Tuesday, July 30, 2013

With the rapid growth of Tampa Bay’s information technology industry creating a need for a highly skilled technical workforce, businesses and academia have an opportunity to work together to create synergies. The USF College of Business and DTCC created a partnership with that goal in mind.

DTCC recently hosted College of Business Dean Moez Limayem as a guest speaker for their START Business Professional Network (BPN). START (supporting, training, advancement, recruitment and retention of talent) is one of many BPN’s, which provide opportunities for DTCC’s employees to train, mentor and network with their peers. START focuses on beginning to mid-career level professionals.

Limayem focused his talk on trending topics relevant to DTCC’s employees, including analytics, cyber security and how to manage large data sets. The presentation was not only heavily attended by DTCC’s local employees, but was also broadcast to other offices such as London and New Jersey.

"From a motivational standpoint, the positive energy in the building was great," says Eric Miller, managing director for DTCC Tampa. "Hearing about just in time topics is very helpful."

Limayem also met with senior technology professionals at DTCC to discuss programming languages and other skills they seek in new graduates, allowing USF to enhance curriculum with workforce-ready programming.
Future plans for the partnership include internships and classroom case studies.

Partnerships like these help develop the right pipeline of talent from Tampa Bay universities to allow students to graduate with not just a degree but additional training needed to hit the ground running at local companies.

"One great thing about the Tampa Bay community is that everyone is partnering together," says Miller. "It’s a very collaborative approach between the business community leaders, the education leaders and the elected officials. I can’t say enough good things about what our region is doing to drive the right common efforts."

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Kasi Martin, Eric Miller, DTCC

Read more articles by Megan Hendricks.

A Florida native and longtime Tampa Bay resident, Megan Hendricks graduated from the University of South Florida with a master's degree in business administration. She worked at the USF College of Business and has extensive community experience including the Tampa Bay Partnership's Talent Dividend Advisory Board, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Emerge Tampa Bay, Ekhos, and Bar Camp Tampa. She is a former board member and newsletter editor for Creative Tampa Bay. Megan enjoys telling the stories that make Tampa Bay a unique, diverse cultural experience.