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Brevard rocketing to recovery: Space Coast is one of fastest-growing economies in U.S.
This story is part of America's Evolving Cities, a USA TODAY Network project that takes a close look at four regions across the country and their unique paths to success — and how residents have benefited or suffered along the way. Robin Fisher recalls the gloomy times Brevard County went through in 2010, as the space shuttle program was a year away from ending — a time when the county's nickname of "The Space Coast" was not necessarily a positive thing. Fisher then was a Brevard County commissioner, representing a North Brevard district that includes Titusville — once known as "Space City USA" and "Miracle City," in nods to the space program that grew over decades at nearby Cape Canaveral. He helped organize a "Save Space" community rally that featured a lineup of elected officials, former astronauts and other local leaders aimed at getting the community mobilized for economic tumult amid the loss of 8,000 Kennedy Space Center jobs. The attitude at the time, Fisher recalled, is that "nobody was coming from Washington to save us. We've got to save ourselves." As it turned out, what came in the ensuing years was not as bad as some had feared — at least in the longer term. The end of the space shuttle program after the final flight of Atlantis in July 2011 did trigger extensive layoffs. But, in the ensuing years, commercial space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin helped fill the vacuum. Largely thanks to SpaceX, Brevard County had a record 93 launches in 2024 — and the Space Force projects this year's total may reach 107 launches. Looking ahead, SpaceX seeks Federal Aviation Administration approval to boost annual Falcon rocket launches to 120 launches a year. And the company is bringing the mighty Starship to the Space Coast, generating at least $1.8 billion in estimated capital investment and 600 new full-time jobs by 2030. Additionally, aerospace and defense companies expanded, as did the health care sector and tourism, with Port Canaveral cementing its place as the world's second-busiest cruise port. "The economy is quite more diverse" now, said Fisher, who owns a State Farm insurance agency and is an investor in small office buildings in Titusville. "No doubt about it. We've put ourselves in a good position." So much so that a new national study puts Brevard County's economy as one of the fastest-growing in the country for midsized communities, and Brevard is projected to continue to have a high ranking in the future. The recently released study by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina and Fifth Third Bank found that Brevard had the highest growth rate among 100 midsized communities during the past five years, as measured by gross domestic product, as well as the second-highest growth rate over the last 10 years. For the coming year, the study ranks Brevard's projected growth at No. 10 in the country among 100 midsized areas, although the study's co-author says Brevard has the potential to rank even higher when the final numbers come in. Gross domestic product is a measure of the aggregate value of an area's goods and services, and is considered a comprehensive indicator of economic activity. Brevard was the only Florida community to be ranked in the Top 10 on either of the separate lists of projected growth for the 50 largest areas or the 100 midsized areas in the country. Two Texas communities topped those lists — Austin for largest areas and Amarillo for midsized areas. Brevard County "has really outperformed" other areas of the country, said the study's co-author, Gerald Cohen, a research professor of finance and chief economist of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. "This is an economy that is growing quite rapidly." Cohen said Brevard benefited from its science, technology and manufacturing sectors, as well as the presence of Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base. Cohen said, although Brevard is ranked as No. 10 out of 100 midsized communities in the study for projected growth this year, he sees the area as having the potential to be in the Top 3 when all is said and done. Although Cohen cautions that there is increasing uncertainty overall in the U.S. economy because of the national economic policy on tariffs and other factors, he added that, for Brevard, "the future looks very bright." Anne Conroy-Baiter, president and CEO of the Melbourne Regional Chamber, said Brevard's more diverse business sectors are helping the community be insulated from national economic ups and downs. She cited, for example, the growth of aerospace and defense companies in the Melbourne and Palm Bay areas, as well as the highly rated higher-education institutions like Florida Institute of Technology and Eastern Florida State College. A wild card is the potential move of NASA headquarters from Washington to the Space Coast, something that is being suggested by state and local officials. Conroy-Baiter said the health care industry also is strong in Brevard — and growing. Although Orlando Health in April closed the run-down, 298-bed Rockledge Hospital just six months after purchasing it in October as part of Steward Health Care's bankruptcy proceedings, Orlando Health plans a $750 million expansion in Brevard County. That includes $600 million on a new hospital; $30 million each for three new stand-alone emergency departments in north, central and south Brevard; and $60 million on new medical pavilions, physician practices, and other facilities and services — all at still-to-be-announced locations. Meanwhile, Suntree-based Health First is building a new $410 million, 120-bed hospital off State Road 520 on Merritt Island that is scheduled to open in early-2027 to replace its Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach. Health First also plans to open two new free-standing emergency departments, including one in Rockledge, as well as expand facilities at its existing full-service hospitals. "Health First continues to thrive" in Brevard, Conroy-Baiter said, while Titusville-based Parrish Healthcare is planning its own expansions in North Brevard. Education and health care combined account for 16% of the jobs in Brevard, making that one of the top job-creating sectors, according to the Kenan Institute/Fifth Third study. Other large employment sectors include trade and transportation, including retailing (16%); business services, including scientific and technical services (15%); manufacturing (13%); and leisure and hospitality (12%). Conroy-Baiter said Brevard County also is being helped by a trend sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. As more workers are finding that they can work remotely, some are opting to move to Brevard while continuing to work for a company whose operations are elsewhere. Conroy-Baiter said Viera seems to be "the place of choice" for many newcomers to the area, with its more urban feel, while being not far from the beaches. Eva Rey, senior vice president for community management and communications at The Viera Co., one of Florida's larger master-planned communities, describes Brevard County as being in "a great economic bubble" — in a positive way. She says the Space Coast is insulated from downturns by its relatively diverse components, encompassing such sectors as space, aerospace, defense, health and tourism. That helps keep the county somewhat protected from national and regional economic concerns like interest rates, inflation and rising property-insurance rates. "Overall, we do have a positive outlook," Rey said, with Viera itself projected to double in population from the current figure of about 38,700 to about 77,400 by 2045. That would rank the unincorporated community of Viera — if it were a city — as among the largest of Brevard's 16 cities and towns, based on population. The largest currently are Palm Bay (2024 population estimated at 140,199), Melbourne (87,846) and Titusville (50,462). Keith Winsten, CEO of the Brevard Zoo in Viera, moved to Viera more than 20 years ago from suburban Chicago to take a job at the zoo. He said he's not surprised by the growth in the area and by the strong economy. "I think we rose from the ashes, really," after the end of the space shuttle program, Winsten said. "Our community has a thriving economy. People are coming here from all over the country. I'm bullish on Brevard County." But Winsten cautions that, with the growth, community leaders also must concentrate on maintaining the area's qualify of life. That includes investing in such things as improving conditions in the Indian River Lagoon; finding ways to make housing more affordable; protecting wild natural spaces; and making sure roads, sewage systems and other infrastructure are able to handle the growing population counts. "If we stop investing" in quality-of-life issues, Winsten said, "then I will have really big concerns." Florida has been investing in Brevard, with recent installments toward the Indian River Lagoon. In March, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $100 million in state grants for 25 projects to improve water quality in the lagoon, including improvements to sewer plants and converting neighborhoods on septic tanks to central-sewer hookups. That money is meant, in part, to bolster local efforts to heal the lagoon as decades of pollution from septic tanks, sewage and runoff from fertilizer-fueled toxic algal blooms that killed most of the lagoon's seagrass and resulted in mass manatee die-offs in recent years. Brevard voters approved a half-percent sales tax in 2016 to help pay for lagoon cleanups. Voters also have chosen by wide margins to tax themselves multiple times over the years to buy environmentally endangered lands along the mainland and beachside. Recalling the end of the space shuttle program and reflecting of what the Space Coast economy is now, Micah Loyd, owner of Titusville-based Loyd Contracting, said: "We've kind of come back a long ways, and we're an area of innovation and growth." The commercial space companies have "put us back on the map," said Loyd, who also is a Canaveral Port Authority commissioner and a former member of the North Brevard Economic Development Zone Special District Board. "We're in that sweet spot. The economic outlook is very good. We're in a much better place than we were in 2011." Lynda Weatherman is president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, whose marketing campaign for the Space Coast has the theme of "Tomorrow Launches Here." Weatherman cited the rapid growth of space and aerospace manufacturing and assembly since Atlantis' final flight as a "paradigm shift," as Brevard evolved from its former, simpler role as merely America's rocket launch site. As landmark economic events that helped set Brevard on its growth trajectory, she pointed to the EDC's efforts to recruit Embraer, which built its North American jet-building campus at Melbourne Orlando International Airport, and Lockheed Martin, which landed NASA's Orion crewed spacecraft program for assembly and checkout services. 'This is one of the most profound things about this community of many things that are profound: We have the intellectual business infrastructure of a major metropolis. Yet we do it in a small, scalable community. So that makes us unique," Weatherman said. 'Everything that you point to that a bigger metropolis would have: Fortune 500 companies. A port — much less a spaceport. Airports. It's right here. I don't think there's many places that have that combination," Weatherman said. Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@ on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at Rick Neale is a space reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Jim Waymer is an environmental reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact him at 321-261-5903 or at jwaymer@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: How Brevard rocketed to recovery to become national economic powerhouse Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Africa has an AI skills problem that is forcing a youth empowerment rethink
AI is evolving from generative tools to autonomous agents, now African businesses face skills shortages as the tech giants shift focus from traditional coding bootcamps to 'AI readiness' – but are we preparing our youth for the right future? There was a nightmare scenario revealed in SAP's latest Africa AI Skills Readiness Revealed report: the technology goalposts have shifted, once again, leaving the continent caught between digital transformation ambitions and the harsh reality of skills shortages that are already undermining business operations. 'A hundred percent of the African organisations that we surveyed said that they saw an increase in demand for AI skills in 2025, and just around 50% of that said they saw a significant increase in the demand for those AI skills,' explains Nazia Pillay, interim managing director for Southern Africa at SAP. The impact isn't theoretical – it's immediate and painful. Nearly 90% of survey responses report that AI skills shortages are already causing 'delays in implementations, failed innovation initiatives, an inability to take on new work, and loss of clients.' For South African companies, the situation is particularly worrying – 98% say lacking AI skills undermines their innovation capabilities, making them more vulnerable to competitive disadvantage. The agentic age changes everything But even as organisations scramble to address these shortages, the AI landscape is rapidly shifting beyond the generative AI tools that dominated 2023 and 2024 keynotes, toward 'agentic AI' – autonomous systems that can plan, act, and adapt independently. 'Copilot was like version one of AI for enterprises with the generative stuff it's moved beyond, so you'll see everyone talks about agents – and the secret of agents is that it's autonomous,' explains Robin Fisher, head of EMEA growth markets at Salesforce, describing how these systems represent a fundamental departure from reactive AI tools toward proactive, goal-directed agents. This shift is forcing a complete rethink of what 'AI readiness skills' even are. The traditional focus on coding – the bread and butter of coding academies across Africa that spawned under the weight of the last future-focused skills wave – is giving way to something far more nuanced. Ursula Fear, Salesforce's senior talent programme manager, warns that '39% of all of our core skills, the global workforce core skills, are to be changed by 2030'. She now says we should all be 'lifelong learners', dedicating 'a minimum of about 10 hours a week' to staying relevant. The skills that matter now extend far beyond 'ones and zeros' coding. Fisher suggests that future AI readiness includes 'the ability to maybe even go back to some of those things like psychology or linguistics because it's around making agents human' – skills crucial for ensuring AI agents operate with empathy and effective communication. The new rules of AI readiness This evolution is reshaping how major tech companies approach youth empowerment in Africa. Both Salesforce and its upstart Indian competitor Zoho are moving away from partnerships with coding bootcamps toward more holistic AI readiness programmes. Salesforce has launched rural interventions, including a pilot partnership with Absa in what Fear describes as a 'tier three town' (she's talking about Dundee), where they discovered qualified individuals – including computer science graduates and marine biologists – who had returned home due to a lack of urban job opportunities. The goal is building 'digital hubs in tier three towns' that can scale Salesforce solutions to businesses as small as a local 'meat producer'. 'We 100% believe that the only way that we are going to be able to solve this problem is through collaboration,' Fear continues, describing partnerships with workforce development organisations like Collective X that focus on 'work-integrated learning – the application of it' rather than just certifications. Zoho, meanwhile, is implementing what it calls 'transnational localism' – a philosophy that blends global reach with local engagement. The company is still riding the learn to code rollercoaster with Code Intelligence in Khayelitsha and Bench Bites for 'train the trainer programmes,' bringing students to their Cape Town offices and hiring directly from these programmes. But even the low-cost CRM hero acknowledges the fundamental shift under way. 'We're trying to not hire any more developers' internally, explains Hyther Nizam, president of Zoho Middle East and Africa, instead aiming to 'repurpose them to some other things' while equipping existing developers with AI tools like copilots. Wake-up call for the African dream For South Africa specifically, these shifts come against a backdrop of sobering economic realities. With youth unemployment at 62%, Andrew Bourne, regional manager for Zoho Southern Africa, stresses the critical need for young South Africans to 'think global' because 'we actually won't have enough jobs in South Africa for the unemployed'. This global perspective is reflected in Zoho's pricing strategy, which is basically offering 'first world technology at a third world price' with 25% subsidised pricing for the rand, maintained consistently for five years. Their new Zoho Solo mobile only app, designed for solopreneurs at R99 a month, aims to build 'digital skills literacy' among one-person businesses. The challenge isn't just about individual skills development, it's about systemic change. Despite 94% of African organisations now offering IT training monthly (up from 74% previously), budget allocation for training has actually decreased from 14% to 7% of IT and HR budgets, with no organisation spending more than 10%. 'We need to allocate a budget for upskilling our existing workforce,' Pillay insists, warning organisations to 'prepare for an AI-related skills gap in 2025' and 'understand the impact that a lack of skills will have on your business, your employees, and your customers.' What South Africa's AI skills crunch means for you If you're a young job seeker, a business owner, or just trying to future-proof your career, this isn't some distant tech debate; it's your next paycheque. AI isn't optional any more. Whether you're in finance, farming, or fashion, businesses are under pressure to adopt AI, but there's a huge shortage of local talent. Your CV needs more than just coding. AI readiness is about more than programming. Skills in communication, business strategy, ethics, and even psychology are now just as valuable. Training is free, if you know where to look. Companies like Salesforce and Zoho are offering open-access training, internships, and rural digital hubs. Jobs aren't disappearing, they're shifting. Data entry might be automated, but someone still needs to guide the agents. AI is a tool, not a takeover. The more you understand it, the more irreplaceable you become. Think beyond our borders. With SA's youth unemployment pushing 60%, the real opportunity might be global. Local startups and students are already getting remote gigs with international firms. The internet doesn't care about your postcode. Bottom line: If you wait for government policy to catch up, you'll be left behind. Start skilling up now; even ten hours a week can change your trajectory. Disproving the replacement theory Both CRM companies are quick to reject the narrative that AI will simply replace human workers, even though they're selling agentic AI. 'At no point is it creating unemployment,' Fisher argues. 'In the same way, agents are going to make certain things probably redundant, data capture, data analysis, those jobs will grow, right? Because AI can do the data analysis, but then it's going to create new jobs that are more powerful because you have context.' Nizam says Zoho's internal experience suggests a more measured reality: AI provides '30% to 40%' productivity improvement, not the '5x to 10x' often promised, partly because 'reading the AI-generated code is a nightmare.' The reality is that the stakes couldn't be higher – 60% of African organisations view AI skills as critical to their success, but 100% expect to face skills gaps. The companies getting it right are those recognising that in an agentic AI world, the most valuable skill might not be writing code, but understanding how to make machines work better with humans. DM
