READ ARTICLE AT ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM by Greg Dawson
Lauren Volcheff, vice president of marketing of Turico Holidays, a wholesale vacation provider in Altamonte Springs, had a job to fill and figured it wouldn't take long.
"I assumed from posting to start date it would take about two months," she said.
A reasonable assumption, especially in this tough economy. The job – senior marketing manager for Turico in Orlando – pays in the $50,000 to $65,000 range, manna from heaven for anyone among the legions of long-term unemployed in Central Florida.
Four months after posting the job, Volcheff is still searching for the right person to fill the position – and it's not for lack of applicants.
"I've seen roughly 30 resumes in that time," Volcheff said. "Qualified candidates are few and far between."
In the midst of what's now commonly known as The Great Recession, headlines correctly focus on the unemployed – the jobless rate in Metro Orlando seems frozen in place at 8.7 percent, give or take a tenth of a point from month to month.
Overshadowed by those headlines and the stories of hardship suffered by the unemployed is the seemingly incongruous fact of thousands of unfilled jobs waiting – sometimes for weeks and months – for the right applicant to come along.
Roger Lear, founder of orlandojobs.com, estimates there are 11,500 open jobs now in Central Florida, the bulk in the hospitality industry, health care and IT/computer work. Shouldn't there be a good job out there for just about everyone?
Not necessarily.
"Many of the jobs are either 'touch money' jobs – sales positions that require real selling skills just to get the job – or require some advanced degree," he said.
Full Sail University in Winter Park has more than 150 jobs listed on orlandojobs.com, from nighttime housekeeping supervisor and web product manager to data analyst. Many have been on the site for weeks.
"When you look down the list of jobs, probably 50 are course director positions" requiring specialized credentials and experience, Lear said. "Not only that, but if you're that good, why teach when you can go out make $50 or $60 an hour doing it?"
The building boom in health care – Nemours Children's Hospital, a new VA hospital, expansion of Orlando Health facilities – brings a raft of good new jobs. In February, Nemours posted 596 positions for the hospital, set to open in October, and has been "pleasantly surprised at how quickly we've been able to fill positions," said spokeswoman Yusial Ramirez. Only 40 remain open.
Lear is doubtful the area's supply of skilled workers can keep up with the growing demand from the medical industry. "Our employment demographic in Central Florida doesn't fill this need," he said.
His view is borne out in Orlando Health's current difficulty in finding qualified candidates for Physician Coder, a job that requires a working knowledge of anatomy, physiology and medical terminology.
"Our HR department says Physician Coder and Hospital Coder positions are very hard to fill, highly specialized jobs, and the schools are not graduating enough coders to fill them," said Orlando Health spokeswoman Kena Lewis.
At Universal Orlando, "there absolutely are categories of jobs we must work very hard to fill," said spokesman Tom Schroder. "These include areas such as information technology and e-commerce. These are growth areas and we know that many companies are working hard to find candidates."
In short, there is competition for the best people.
Two months ago the city of Orlando placed an ad on orlandojobs.com for an industrial automation technician, someone who performs myriad tasks with electrical equipment. The jobs pays $45,000 to $70,000 depending on qualifications. The ad is still there.
"It's a pretty specialized position that requires a lot of experience," said city spokeswoman Heather Fagan. "We're not pulling from a large pool of qualified candidates, and often competing with the private sector. The position was offered to somebody, but when he put in his two weeks' notice they raised his salary."
Seminole State College has been trying even longer to find someone to head up its new Center for Global Engagement, designed to expand the college's international studies program and to establish a service-learning program.
When first posted last November, the job was for "coordinator" and paid about $50,000. It requires a Master's degree and experience with study abroad as well as program management.
"We did not receive the level of applicants we had envisioned, so we revised the position description, pay grade and title to attract candidates," Laura Ross, vice president of academic affairs, said in an e-mail.
The job was changed from center coordinator to director, with a salary range of $58,000 to $74,000, and reposted in July.
Irony of ironies, Lear is having trouble filling a job in his own company.
"We're a little company with 22 employees, very well-connected in the community, and I can't hire an esp.net guy to save my life," he said, referring to a website specialist. Actually, he can hire them – he just can't keep them.
In the past year and half, Lear has hired three people for the esp.net job. Two "didn't work out" and the third left for another job. The staff position at orlandojobs.com pays $60,000, he said, but a good esp.net worker can make $75 an hour ($156,000 a year) as a private contractor – the price Lear is forced to pay.
"I know a lot of companies in the same boat," he said.
The job specialist has gone all out to sell prospects on the job he's offering.
"We tell them we do all sorts of fun things," Lear said. "We take people on cruises, we do events all the time, we have full benefits. It's not enough."
