Earlier this year, Skiftech co-founders Michael Obod and Yurii Lavrenov traveled from their homes in Ukraine to Central Florida Research Park to meet with some of its simulation industry partners — and a sign caught Obod’s attention.
Obod and Lavrenov were walking through a parking lot when they saw the sign for the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program, which operates a business incubator in Research Park.
The pair walked into the office, and that put them on a path to expanding their military training company from Ukraine to Orlando with the help of the incubation program, Obod told Orlando Inno.
Why this story matters: New tech jobs mean more high-wage positions in metro Orlando, where tech jobs pay an average annual wage of $90,378, compared to the region's overall average annual wage of $50,770, per CBRE Group Inc. and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Skiftech is one of three out-of-town companies in the last three weeks to decide to expand or relocate to the Orlando area through the UCF Business Incubation Program’s soft landing program and create local jobs.
Here’s more on those three companies:
- Skiftech: The Ukrainian company started in 2005 supplying laser tag systems to entertainment venues around the world, including Battleground Orlando, before pivoting to military training systems eight years ago. By the end of 2024, Skiftech, which employs 250 people, aims to hire 20-50 people in Orlando, ranging from legal counsel to business development professionals to production workers. Skiftech is an example of entertainment technologies that can cross over to other industries, said Carol Ann Logue, director of programs and operations for UCF's Innovation Districts and incubation program. “The growing convergence of innovations from the entertainment industry into the defense simulation and training industry is one reason why Orlando is so attractive to businesses like Skiftech.”
- Metris Global LLC: The San Tan Valley, Arizona-based training solutions firm on Nov. 28 announced it moved its headquarters to Orlando. The 11-year-old company expects to add 10-20 jobs by the end of 2024. Metris Global’s clients include the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard. “As we continue to grow and expand our services, it became increasingly clear that Orlando was where we needed to be,” CEO Thomas Heckens said in a prepared statement.
- Bubo Learning Design LLC: The Plano, Texas-based business on Nov. 14 announced its first Florida expansion: a new Orlando office. As a result, the 10-person online learning company that serves government and industry clients will add 10 jobs in Orlando in the next two years. One of the company’s newest clients is the Smithsonian Institute, which works with Bubo to onboard employees at the National Museum of the American Indian.
UCF’s business incubators focus on local, early-stage companies with high-growth potential. However, the incubators are willing to accept larger, more established companies to its soft landing program, which aids Central Florida expansions by out-of-state and international firms.
The strength of the region’s $6 billion simulation industry was a factor that attracted each of these companies to Central Florida. Orlando often is considered the world hub for modeling, simulation and training due to the fact Orlando is home to the simulation commands for the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.
That’s one reason metro Orlando companies landed $5.3 billion worth of federal contract obligations in fiscal-year 2022, according to the U.S. government’s spending database. Orange County was the site of $4.7 billion of those spending obligations.
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