VT MAE Groundbreaking... Entrecon gets underway Thursday

VT MAE Groundbreaking

October 28th, FloridaWest board member Bentina Terry - VP, Customer Service and Sales for Gulf Power, joined Governor Rick Scott, Mayor Ashton Hayward, state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking of a planned major aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Pensacola International Airport that will create 400 new jobs.

VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering (VT MAE) plans to build a 173,000 square foot facility which will sit on approximately 19 acres of property at the airport.

Design and construction of the $46 million dollar project is being made possible through a combination of funds from the State of Florida/Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the City of Pensacola, Escambia County, the UWF Haas Center Industry Recruitment, Retention and Expansion Fund and VT MAE.

FloridaWest would like to thank our partners at the Escambia County School District, George Stone Technical College, Pensacola State College and CareerSource Escarosa.

“As the Economic Development Alliance, we were happy to play our role in facilitating this project,” FloridaWest CEO Scott Luth said, “Now our team is looking forward to moving into the next phase: supporting the hiring and workforce development.”

The maintenance facility will accommodate two Boeing 777’s, or four Boeing 757’s, or six Airbus A-320 sized aircraft. Bringing new industry to the area, VT MAE will hire skilled personnel, including Master Airplane Technicians, Aircraft Inspectors, Master Structures Technicians, Sheet Metal Mechanics and Avionics Technicians. FloridaWest is working with local educational institutions and VT MAE to implement training programs to create a sustainable workforce.

After groundbreaking, construction will last approximately 16 months, with the facility opening for operation in early 2018.

Are you ready for EntreCon 2016? November 3 & 4

The two-day business conference will provide an opportunity to learn from local and national entrepreneurs on creating cultures where everyone thinks, feels and acts like an owner. We encourage you to break away for the pressures and responsibilities associated with the business of doing business.

At EntreCon you will find encouragement, ideas and actionable steps to increase the success of your career or organization and we guarantee you will not be disappointed. Who should attend? Anyone with responsibilities for the success of an organization whether in the private, public, or non-profit sector.

In the news...

Hiring locally for VT MAE has the biggest impact - Pensacola News Journal

ITEN Wired Tech Summit arrives in Pensacola -- 850 Magazine

Duncan to share message at Entrecon -- Pensacola News Journal

Private construction group: Think local, think minority -- Pensacola News Journal

Job Fair at PSC

CareerSource Escarosa's 8th Annual Job Fair drew 61 employers and 512 job seekers to PSC's Amos Performance studio October 28th

Find out more about CareerSource Escarosa

DBE Outreach

Many thanks to Skanska for holding a Outreach Event in our area recently. In August, Skanska signed a contract with the Florida Department of Transportation to construct the new Pensacola Bay Bridge.

More outreach events are planned for the future!

Election Day is November 8