In Brevard County, health care providers, financial specialists, computer experts will be in demand.
If you want in on a growing career field in Brevard County, one that has some staying power, the health profession would be a good bet.
Being a financial specialist — an adviser, accountant or a planner — also might be a wise career choice, as would, surprise, surprise, a job involving computers and Internet technology.
All are — and will be for years to come — growth industries in the Space Coast, according to an annual report by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The detailed, region-by-region report looks at various sectors and estimates through 2019 what job sectors are expected to grow and where declines will come.
The reports are important, says Florida’s top state economist, Rebecca Rust, because they give education officials a sense of what curriculum to emphasize in middle and secondary levels for growing career fields.
“They can look at these long-term projections and make sure their curriculum planning is in line with these projections,” Rust said. “It’s the system being more driven by industry trends. And it helps us do a better job meeting the needs of business.”
The data show a community’s strengths and weaknesses.
Engineering jobs, for so long part of Brevard’s space-rich DNA, are expected to decline by more than 5 percent by 2019, from 9,037 to 8,563, the report says. Some of that is probably due to the end of NASA’s space shuttle program and future cuts in government defense contracts.
Of all occupations, health care is expected to see the most across-the-board growth in Brevard and, for that matter, nationwide. That includes everything from physicians to nutritionists to home health aides. The explosive growth comes as aging Baby Boomers require more medical attention.
Health care industry jobs have been predicted to grow by 3.2 million during the decade before 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thousands of those jobs will be created in Brevard.
“It’s the most stable of the careers anyone can choose right now,” said Linda Miedema, vice president for academic affairs at Brevard Community College, which offers courses for an array of career paths in health care.
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