MOORE HAVEN — Tracy Whirls, executive director of the Glades County Economic Development Council Inc., has a special request for employers in the county and region: Data is being collected on the needs of employers and the quality and availability of skilled employees locally. An available and skilled workforce is the primary driver when businesses consider establishing a location or expanding. If a region cannot provide the talent pipeline the businesses need now and into the future, it will likely be eliminated from consideration.

So, Florida’s Heartland Economic Region of Opportunity (FHERO) is working with Boyette Strategic Advisors to gain a clearer understanding of the workforce in this region. The project will gather information about the workforce in our six-county region. The results of this study will be very important to efforts to create new jobs and investment in our region. While the analysis will collect data from several sources, the most important perspective will be that of employers. Boyette has designed an online survey, where most questions can be answered without additional research. The company doesn’t expect the survey to take more than 15 minutes; however, respondents can begin the survey, save it and return later to complete the response. All information will be confidential; no individual survey responses will be shared.

To complete the survey, go to boyette-sa.fhero-employer-survey.sgizmo.com/s3/ . The survey will be available until March 11.