Talent search blooms

The University of South Florida has launched a new office of corporate partnerships at its research park on the Tampa campus.

USF officials say the office represents an effort to help strengthen the Tampa Bay region's talent pipeline. The move could also be viewed as a response to a recently released regional competitiveness report, compiled by the Tampa Bay Partnership, that has Tampa Bay ranked at or near the bottom in several statistical categories related to workforce development and training.

For example, 13.9% of Tampa Bay residents between the ages of 16 and 24 are not in school or not employed. Among comparable metro areas, only Charlotte, N.C., has a higher percentage of people not getting an education and not part of the workforce.