Building Our Economy

Being future ready means building an economy that works for all: a thriving, inclusive economy that meets today’s challenges, and an innovation-driven, fast-paced economy that is ready for the future. That's why I launched Miami-Dade's Future Ready Plan – to build the economy of the future today. It has 3 pillars: empowering our local workforce, supporting our small businesses, and unleashing the power of innovation.

This collaborative approach is a Win Win Win: businesses get a dynamic workforce; you, the residents, get more jobs in the fastest growing fields; and our community prospers. To ensure all residents have good-paying jobs, we need to equip young people for success in some of Miami-Dade's highest-growth industries – like tech, hospitality, and construction.

So we’re working with the Beacon Council, our chambers, big and small businesses, CareerSource and our colleges and universities to train the talent pool. In the coming year, we’re creating new opportunities for high school students to access apprenticeships in construction on County projects, in collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and our partners in labor.
Broadband access has never been more critical to bridging the digital divide. High-speed internet access should be as commonplace as water and electricity. So we’re announcing a Broadband and Digital Equity Action Plan, with our partners at the Miami Foundation and Miami Connected, that lays out a strategy to connect every neighborhood with fast, affordable internet.

Across all our programs, I’m making sure that the County spends your money in line with our values. We are expanding purpose-driven procurement – so more County dollars go back to small and local business and to companies committed to protecting our environment and our workers.

And we’re cutting red tape to build a business-friendly ecosystem, rolling out programming that supports small businesses at every stage – from start up to scale up. We are leading the way nationally with our STRIVE305 program – equipping entrepreneurs and small business owners with access to capital, training, and more. And we’re proud to have served more than 5,000 businesses since its launch.
Group of Miami-Dade County employees.
Image of County employees