New, high-paying manufacturing jobs are coming to Manatee County. Projects Jaguar and Harbor are going through review with the board of county commissioners. Both asking for funding to expand manufacturing in Manatee County. Right now, the names of the companies that’ll offer 60 jobs are being kept confidential.
“It’s great for this region," says Jen Bartolone with CareerSource Suncoast. But she adds, opportunity is already here.
“Right now we have over 160 openings as well. Manufacturing is in high demand," said Bartolone.
She says continue to expect even more openings, because the field is booming. For Randolph Pitts, his manufacturing job changed his life.
“I'm just trying to take care of my family the right way," he said.
Pitts described struggling for months to find a job.
“They want you to have a degree for certain things, or they’re not hiring or the space is filled. It’s just really hard," said Pitts.
Now, he can support his family and learn a trade at the same time. It’s not just manufacturing jobs in high demand. Construction gained 500 new jobs compared to last year and education and health services gained 3,700 new jobs.
While details on Projects Jaguar and Harbor are kept tight, we do know the paycheck will be around 150% of the county’s 2014 average annual wage.