Remember way back in 2018, when Charlotte’s lack of tech talent kept the city from being included among 20 finalists for Amazon’s much-ballyhooed HQ2 project? Pretty much from that moment on, tech expansion — driven by financial technology but going broader than that — has become a bigger and bigger part of the local economy.
On Monday, City Council’s workforce and business development committee heard the results of a local tech study that showed the likelihood of continuing growth but a need to better spread the word on Charlotte’s tech potential. Despite top-five rankings as a tech center by national publications in recent years, the area remains comparatively anonymous within the industry.
A prime example: 53% of local companies surveyed as part of the study said it remains “moderately difficult” to recruit tech workers in the region.
Emily Cantrell, assistant economic development director, said Monday that focusing and refining a message to reach skilled tech workers is one of four recommendations resulting from the $135,000 study. City government paid $95,000 of the cost; the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance picked up the remaining $40,000. Consulting firm Slalom conducted the study, which included interviews with top employers, tech experts, tech employees, educational institutions and staffing agencies.
Other suggestions: Establishing a regular tracking and analysis of tech jobs and growth in the region to better assess talent needs and bolster retention and recruiting strategies; investing to ensure a diverse tech workforce while strengthening the talent that is already here; and strengthening and establishing partnerships with employers, educational institutions, vendors and staffing agencies to build on the current investments.
Cantrell cited several major expansions and additions since Amazon’s snub in January 2018. Among them: landing the headquarters of Honeywell from New Jersey; securing tech-centric expansions of homegrown companies AvidXchange, LendingTree, Lowe’s and Stratifyd; and becoming the hub for Truist Financial’s tech-driven growth, the result of a 2019 merger between BB&T and SunTrust.
To cite but one example, Lowe’s committed to add 2,000 jobs as part of the home-improvement retailer’s new technology hub. There were 4,000 new tech jobs announced at the end of 2018 and during 2019, Cantrell said.
“Our market was being recognized as the fastest-growing tech market in the U.S. and we were getting a lot of inquiries around the growth of this sector,” she added. “We were a bit of an enigma to these folks who had traditionally focused on big tech cities such as New York, the Bay Area, Austin and Dallas. So, it was critically important for us to be able to provide not just quantitative data but also to take a deeper dive into technology talent in Charlotte and hear directly from our employers as well as our local talent.”
Fresh look at diversity
The committee also heard an update on the city’s next diversity study, scheduled to begin this spring and be completed and adopted by the end of 2022. Steven Coker, manager of Charlotte Business Inclusion, on Monday recommended the city hire San Antonio-based Colette Holt & Associates to lead the study.
The estimated cost of the study is $420,000. BBC Research & Consulting, based in Denver, conducted the city’s previous disparity analysis in 2017.
Six firms bid for the city contract. Coker said the city hopes to sign a contract with Holt & Associates in February, with work on the 12- to 18-month study to begin in March.
City government conducts a disparity study every five years to determine whether minority- and women-owned businesses are receiving a proportionate share of contracts out of all available city spending. It includes categories such as construction, engineering, architecture and other services and goods. The study also assesses the number of women- and minority-owned firms in various sectors and their capabilities.
Coker said Colette Holt, principal of Holt & Associates, is regarded as a leading expert on diversity programs and noted that her firm has extensive experience defending those policies in court.
Diversity studies are important because they offer an objective and thorough analysis by reviewing five years of city spending — and by providing a blueprint for addressing any existing disparities through gender-conscious and race-conscious programs, Coker added. Charlotte has had various versions of diversity and small-business disparity programs in place since 1981.
Etcetera
• Administrators offered an overview of the city’s tax increment grant policy, with more discussion anticipated as part of council’s annual retreat next week. Tax increment financing is one of several ways local government provides incentives for private expansion and investment, using a portion of additional property tax revenue to help pay for improvements such as sidewalks, street and site improvements, parking and so on.
• Other updates included a review of a training program led by the city and the Urban League of the Carolinas to help residents learn heating, ventilation and air conditioning trades and place them in industry jobs. The first class graduated last month.
Another jobs program, focusing on the parts of town hit hardest by unemployment, remains in the early stages but is likely to expand this year. Fran West, assistant economic development director, outlined plans for an alliance with the local construction industry to teach people skills that will help them land jobs. Construction is a natural choice because the city has a steady pipeline of work in that area, hiring various private firms that could be encouraged to provide opportunities through training and apprenticeships.
Many details remain undetermined, but with council backing, West predicted a program piggybacking off the success the city has seen with projects at the airport and the convention center could be ready for a test run by the spring.
