In our “Focus on” series, WorkingNation looks at cities and towns around the country to learn about the ideas and efforts that are creating jobs and giving opportunity for family-sustaining jobs and economic mobility. In this article in the series, we Focus on Pensacola, Florida.
“Every week that goes by, we’re on another list of best places to live, safest places,” says Mayor D.C. Reeves of Pensacola, Florida. As a former entrepreneur, Reeves is business minded. He explains that the aerospace, cybersecurity, and even marine technology sectors are having major impact on his city.
With a population of about 55,000, Reeves says, “I’m excited because we’re being discovered and as we are discovered, we’ve got to continue to create [job] opportunity, not just for people who are wanting to move here, but for the people that live here. And so, I really consider myself a place-based economic development person.”
The Florida Panhandle city is proving attractive to both national and international employers.
Generational Opportunity via Aerospace
Singapore-based ST Engineering continues expansion of its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations at Pensacola International Airport. The company has built two hangars which currently service aircraft for UPS and United Airlines. Construction is underway for a third hangar with plans for a fourth.
“We look at this project as a major economic driver for our region, not just for the City of Pensacola or inside the city limits,” says Reeves. “We also know that if we’re going to maximize its potential, it means Pensacolians have to be getting these jobs.
“We’re one of the poorest counties in the state. We have an opportunity that someone at 19 or 20 years old could be the breadwinner of their family and be making more money than their parents are making. I think that’s the generational opportunity that we saw,” he adds.
Reeves touts the upcoming local educational pathway into the sector, “The conduit we have been missing is that A and P (airframe and powerplant) mechanics school.
“It’s one thing to say we have these jobs. It’s another to say, you can leave high school. You’ve got a scholarship at our two-year college Pensacola State College (PSC), and you’re going to be training in a hangar right next to the big hanger. You’re going to be working with this company that will be happy to hire you once you’ve got your certification.”
The airframe and powerplant program will train students to conduct “repair and renovation of anything from small aircraft, helicopters to large aircraft such as your commercial airlines-type planes,” explains Ed Meadows, Ed.D., president of PSC.
The program is awaiting accreditation, but is tentatively slated to get underway in January at the start of the spring term. Just last month, the program received a financial boost from the state of more than $4.4 million.
Meadows explains, initially, the training will take place at an ST Engineering facility. “That will provide a temporary place where we can start offering the program while we construct a 25,000-square foot facility at the airport.”
He says the program offerings include “advanced certifications like non-destructible material testing, blueprint reading, composites, anything and everything that’s associated with the maintenance or repair or renovation of aircraft.”
Job Opportunities for the Military-Connected Community
Meadows says it’s expected the A and P program will draw students from various populations, “We have a huge number of military that once they muster out of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, or even the Coast Guard, they want to stay in the region.”
He notes, “We have a program right now that’s funding short-term military and/or dependents for six weeks of training to put them immediately into the workforce. That’s in things like welding and CNC machining. But because of the tremendous need in the aerospace industry for maintenance repair, we will also offer that program to get their foot in the door.”
He adds the A and P program will be available as free dual enrollment option for high school students.
Airframe and powerplant are each one-year certificate programs with completion of both of the certifications requiring three semesters. PSC has later plans to also offer associate degree programming. “Our first intake, we’ll limit to between 25 and 30 students. And then every semester, thereafter, we will add another 25 to 30 students,” says Meadows. “The facility that we are constructing will accommodate about 75 students at a time.”
Apprenticeships or internships will be available to students as early as the first semester, he says.
Looking ahead, Meadows says, “My personal hope is that we are helping fill a critical workforce need in a growing industry which certainly adds to the tax base of our region. It adds to the employment of local citizens as well as immigration into the area from other parts of the United States.”
Need for Talent in the ‘Cyber Coast’
Pensacola touts cybersecurity as another job-creating opportunity and embraces the nickname the “CyberCoast.” The majority of cybersecurity analysts in the city make around $75,200 or more, which is above the median income of $67,772 for all workers, according to ZipRecruiter.
“We’ve got some foundational benefits to really be a burgeoning cybersecurity community. One being the military presence and the DOD training location right here, just a few miles west of us,” says Reeves. “And then there’s also UWF (University of West Florida), the accredited school that is not only doing training here, but also training people all over the country.”
Reeves says Pensacola is in the early stages of fully capitalizing on cybersecurity as an economic development draw, but there are big initiatives in the works.
“We had a sit-down with the cybersecurity school at UWF to talk about how we [can] be good partners in helping understand everything that they do and how do we take a business in Washington D.C. and say, ‘Hey, why not move to Pensacola, Florida?’ The anxiety is ‘Well, if I leave Washington, if I leave New York, if I leave wherever, how am I going to find good people?’”
Eman El-Sheik, Ph.D., associate vice president for the UWF Center for Cybersecurity, says the college is putting a huge focus on workforce development to make certain that the CyberCoast has the talent to fill all the current and potential jobs in the community.
“There’s a growing need for cyber professionals, lots of open jobs, and the skills continue to evolve,” she explains. “We’re focused on upskilling and reskilling programs.”
“We’re trying to address that in a scalable and sustainable way. And we also solve problems such as research helping students succeed, helping increase diversity in the field.”
She points to UWF’s National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program, or CyberSkills2Work, for short.
“It is a national program where we help diverse learners and those who want to get into cybersecurity, identify what knowledge and skills they need, give them the necessary training and industry certifications, provide professional development support to help them with develop their resumes and mock interviews, and also connect them with employers and job opportunities,” explains El-Sheikh.
She says since the no-cost program’s inception in 2020, about 3,300 transitioning military personnel and first responders have participated.
“Last year, we were thrilled that we were able to expand eligibility to include women, underrepresented minorities, military spouses, and federal, state, and local government personnel.”
The duration of the CyberSkills2Work program is about eight months. El-Sheikh says, “It’s offered completely online so (students) can participate from wherever and includes key industry certifications so that they are getting the knowledge and skills from scratch, really starting at entry-level, just basic computer background.
“By the time they’re done, they can earn industry certifications that then are meaningful to employers that help them get the job with the credentials that they’re earning.”
She says the training is accessible to “career changers, whether they have a background in health care or accounting or business or English. The only thing they need is the ability to use a computer and a computer connected to the internet.”
On the Cybersecurity Pathway
Steven McDonald first landed a job with the Florida Department of Corrections in 2021. After learning from one of his directors about a cyber skills program at University of South Florida, he began his cyber skills training with Network+ and CISA Plus prep courses. Wanting to expand his knowledge, he started looking into CyberSkills2Work which led him to UWF.
“I was given access to all the resources that the University of West Florida and the Center for Cybersecurity gives access to for state employees. All the amazing two-week courses, all the prep courses, and all the one-day boot camps have all been through University of West Florida,” he explains.
When McDonald initially onboarded with the Department of Corrections, his first position was an entry-level distributed computer systems analyst. After promotions, he now works as a systems project analyst.
He oversees all aspects of the IT local infrastructure and computer support for three institutions in Milton, about 25 miles from Pensacola.
“This is a two-man post. My partner and I oversee over almost 500 computers along with supporting our network team with local boots-on-the-ground, as well as end user support and advising the administration on security policies as stated by the administration.
“We support inmate-use computers in which there are limitations and restrictions, security policies in place so that they can participate. They work in the library. They have law clerk computers. They have access to court law, to state law, to federal law,” says McDonald.
McDonald is certain he has found his career path in cybersecurity.
“These programs have given me the ability and the training to be able to really focus on the direction that I want my career path to go. It has been a phenomenal transition – just the learning, the massive amounts of information, and the resources that are available during these courses. It is just beyond all expectations.”
With a long-term goal to become an incident response commander – the lead of all cyber emergency response in an organization – he gives a shout-out to his supervisors for their support of his career goals. “Every time UWF puts out a flyer that says, ‘Hey, we got this upcoming class,’ I’ve gotten full permission from my chain of command. There is a support structure here that I have not seen in my career.”
A Veteran Turns His ‘knack for computers’ into a Career in Cyber
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Patrick Huwiler was at bootcamp at the time of 9/11, eventually had multiple deployments, and served as an EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) tech.
Huwiler says he’s always had a “knack for computers” and was working at a computer shop at age 15. “By the time I left to go to active duty, I was running a multi-state, even international, network. From age 15 to 20, I built this company up.”
After separating from the military in 2023, by the time Huwiler learned about the UWF program, the current training program had already gotten underway. That didn’t deter him from applying anyway.
He explains, “I wanted to be in the program. I got a call [from the program leader] and basically she said, ‘Hey, we are four weeks, five weeks into this. You look like you have a strong background. Do you think you could catch up and then test out within the timeline?’
“And I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ And I crammed and crammed and crammed.” Huwiler says his past experience prior to joining the military created a strong foundation for him.
“Technology’s always been ingrained. It never was my primary job in the military, but I’ve always leveraged it,” he says.
“No matter what you do in the military, especially nowadays, it’s no longer just boots to the ground. There has to be some kind of technology considerations. It used to be land, air, and sea. It’s now land, air, sea, cyber, and even space.”
Huwiler who is now the chief technology officer for Virginia-based Advanced Business Resources says about the UWF certifications, “It formalized that knowledge, right? The biggest thing I have is the formalization, that piece of paper or multiple papers that say I exceeded or met the [industry] standards. And that’s the big thing.”
‘The sailing destination of the United States of America’
“Traditionally the beach is our crown jewel,” says Mayor Reeves. “Of course, tourism will always be a part of our world.”
But another economic opportunity has landed in the waters of Pensacola. American Magic – an America’s Cup sailing team – is making the city its headquarters with a 10-year lease.
Reeves says, “That’s may be not quite an industry yet, but…being able to plant your flag as the sailing destination of the United States of America is another cool aspect that could come with its own compounding impact within the sailing industry.”
Terry Hutchinson is the president of sailing operations and skipper for New York Yacht Club American Magic, a challenger for the 37th America’s Cup.
He spoke with me from Barcelona where the final preliminary regatta is now complete and the round robin competition gets underway tomorrow.
The team has been training in Pensacola since 2018, but in February of this year, announced it’s making the city its headquarters.
Hutchinson says, “One of the reasons that we chose Pensacola was because of its natural amphitheater and there’s no real big, tall buildings surrounding Pensacola Bay.
“You have a clean run that comes over Fort Pickens Beach and that area that comes straight onto the Bay. The sailing is very, very good there. For what we’re doing, it’s probably one of the best venues in the country that we could have chosen.”
He says, “Under Mayor Reeves’ leadership, when we started thinking about maintaining a competitive advantage to win the America’s Cup, one of the driving principles was to have a base that the team could operate all the time. We could be a manufacturing facility, we could be a training facility, and we could eat, sleep, and breathe the America’s Cup 24 hours a day.”
Hutchinson is looking forward to building a workforce pipeline in the area, “One thing to recognize in the marine industry in particular, a lot of the skilled workforce has evaporated. Generally, when we build [boats], we build them here in Spain or in Italy because there’s no highly-skilled professional labor to build boats of this quality in the United States.”
Hutchinson says the organization is developing a facility in Pensacola where they can design and manufacture, “not only our America’s Cup boat, but all the pieces that go with that.”
With over 63,000 square feet, the facility – upon completion – will support American Magic in all aspects of its operations.
He explains, “The testing of the boat as we manufacture it from start to finish, would equal that to an aerospace composite manufacturing facility. When you start thinking about the engineering side and the design side and the skilled trades that go with manufacturing one of these boats – it’s everything from a mechatronics engineer which is systems and coding and logic inside the boat, to hydraulic engineers, to composite engineers, to structural engineers.
“The neat thing about Pensacola is the proximity of the University of West Florida and some of the companies that are operating in and around Pensacola. There’s a lot of synergy between what we do and what they do.”
Hutchinson says about 150 existing team members are relocating to Pensacola, “The goal is to integrate into the community – we’re upskilling community folks – to become an integral part of our team and really to grow and foster inside of the Pensacola community.
“Probably within 24 months, the goal is to be in a position that we can have some type of collaboration or program with University of West Florida that will allow their engineers to be studying inside of our manufacturing facility and learning the trades that we’re doing.”
He also stresses, “When we first started down this pathway, something that Mayor Reeves was insistent about was making sure that every part of the city of Pensacola had a say in what we were doing. And that any underprivileged district inside of Pensacola knew that, in some capacity, they were going to be able to benefit their kids.
“I’m sensitive to the fact that sailing has a bit of a stigma attached to it, and it’s not very accessible. So, on top of the manufacturing side, we need to be committed to building that accessibility – showing kids that this is another way that you can go out and learn responsibility on the water and learn about Mother Nature and the science behind sailing.”
Mayor Reeves’ Thoughts on Entrepreneurship
Prior to becoming the mayor in 2022, among other things, Reeves worked as a sports journalist before opening his own business in Pensacola, a craft brewery with four locations which he later sold to a New Orleans-based company.
Reeves says his entrepreneurial experience has been instrumental in his current role, “Having that experience has been valuable, not only in projects that we’re talking about, but in operating the city. You’ve got to treat things like a business sometimes and you’ve got to look at them in a different way.”
He adds, “If anything entrepreneurship taught me, it’s that we’ve got to always remain coachable. I will never vote for somebody who doesn’t have some experience. They don’t have to have owned a business. It’s not that you need the financial wherewithal to have owned the business, but at least operate in a business in some form.”
Reeves says city government should not be the obstacle that prevents someone from starting a business. “I don’t think mayors and governments understand how truly a small barrier can be a large one. You might be scared of starting this business and you hit a couple bumps in the road and then you’re out.
“We should not be in charge of whether you’re successful or not, but we should be in charge of making you create wealth and create opportunity for yourself if that’s what you want to do.”
Reeves says the pathway to business ownership should be streamlined, acknowledging that entrepreneurs-in-the-making have their own lives to manage. He says, detractors will say, “’We have everything an entrepreneur needs. You fill out these 19 permits and you go to four offices.’ The challenge is us doing a better job of narrating what it takes. I think this is a help to all businesses, especially to minority businesses.”
Reeves also says The Spring Entrepreneur Hub is a small, privately funded resource – backed by his own business mentor – that he calls “the front door for entrepreneurship in our community.” The Hub provides mentoring service to help local businesses grow jobs.
‘A really dang cool place to live’
According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, the racial makeup of Pensacola is about 66% white, 23% Black, 4.5% Hispanic/Latino – with the remainder comprised of people who identify as AANHPI, Native Americans/Indigenous Peoples, or two or more races.
Regarding changes in the population, Reeves says, “Interestingly enough, we’re getting younger. We’re getting more educated than we have been. Young people, now as remote as ever, as nimble and mobile as ever, want to live here.”
He says as more young people move to Pensacola, the business community wants its new residents to have the skills they need. “We’re trying to fill the gaps – whether it’s a trade school, whether it’s a mechanics school, whether it’s helping entrepreneurs make it easy to open a business.
“We have just a really dang cool place to live and a safe place to live.”
WorkingNation producer Deidra White contributed to the reporting for this article.
