Northeast Florida surges with growing industries and advancement opportunities, but behind all of the region’s most successful businesses is a strong framework laid by our Technology Services industry. Technology touches every aspect of our lives, from work to education to entertainment. With the exponential growth of technology in the last few decades, skilled workers are needed anywhere and everywhere. IT professionals are flocking to Northeast Florida, and local students pursuing technology should look no further than their own backyard.
Rankings
The Jacksonville region is acknowledged as a national leader in the Technology Services industry. According to a recent study by Bloomberg and LinkedIn, Jacksonville ranks fourth in attracting technology professionals on a per capita basis. Relode, a recruiting and hiring company, placed Jacksonville as the sixth best city in the nation for healthcare IT jobs. Jacksonville has also been ranked in the top 20 for emerging tech markets to watch, best tech cities for IT jobs and best city for women in technology.
Technology Services Sectors
The Technology Services industry includes a range of IT & Innovation sectors, including data centers, software, defense technologies, smart infrastructure, autonomous vehicles and energy, solar and water technologies. In particular, Northeast Florida has a keen interest in Fintech and Health Tech.
FINTECH
Fintech, which stands for financial technology, is the fastest growing sector of Northeast Florida’s Technology Services industry. In fact, the region had a 40 percent growth in Fintech during the last decade alone—three points above the national average. With the ever-growing demand for payment processing automation and technology in banking, investment and risk management, Fintech has a promising outlook for continued success.
Central to Jacksonville’s Fintech hub is FIS, a Fortune 500 company and the world’s largest Fintech company by revenue. Several other Fintech companies are headquartered or run operations in Northeast Florida. Such companies include Black Knight, Dun & Bradstreet, SoFi, Paysafe and SS&C.
Jacksonville is home to Florida’s first Fintech academy, and students can choose from a variety of pathways to enter the Fintech industry. One option is to attend the Fintech Support Technician Boot Camp Academies, which are fast-track programs that provide a non-credit pathway for individuals to learn advantageous skills needed by regional Fintech companies. In 2020, Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College received a $3.6 million grant to provide Fintech training and certifications as well as an externship program. University of North Florida and Jacksonville University also offer Fintech programs and certifications as well as relevant degree programs, such as business analytics and computer science.
HEALTH TECH
With world-class hospitals and a booming Life Sciences industry, it’s no wonder that Northeast Florida’s healthcare IT sector is rising with the tide. The region’s Health Tech companies provide medical professionals with next-level innovation to improve patient care and administration processes.
Two standout companies in Jacksonville’s Health Tech sector are Availity and Forcura. Availity enables easy access to health plan information, enhances revenue cycle performance and captures patient payments. Forcura also works to simplify the healthcare process by streamlining administrative tasks and supplying applications for workflow management.
Health Tech provides great career opportunities and can be a fulfilling pathway to pursue. Carolyn O’Neal works as an Associate Software Engineer at Forcura and told Earn Up that “What we do at Forcura is extremely rewarding. It helps providers and patients going through care with software that saves time and money.”
Technology Services Pathway
Technology companies look to hire curious and passionate workers. Since technology is always evolving, tech workers must be adaptable and quick learners who like a challenge.
The highest-demand jobs in the Technology Services industry are customer service representatives, software developers, sales representatives and computer user support specialists. Although salaries will vary between levels of experience and education, the average annual wage for a tech worker in Northeast Florida is $123,429.
There are many routes to pursue the Technology Services Career Pathway. The Technology Services Industry Report outlines all of the relevant educational opportunities available in Northeast Florida. There are 31 CTE or related programs, such as CompTIA+, Java/Oracle and Cisco, that can be pursued as early as high school. Postsecondary options are available at institutions across the region and range from certificates to graduate programs. Many fantastic technology companies in the region provide internships and other work-based learning opportunities.
In this essential industry, Northeast Florida remains a state and national model in quality of service and quality of life. Technology Services employers are key players in the success of all our target industries and will continue to advance the region as they invest in our community.
