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Gifford Neighborhood Plan 2014 <br /> Economic Develoument <br /> One advantage of Gifford's central County location is its close proximity to several major employers such as Indian River Memorial <br /> Hospital, Vero Beach Municipal Airport, Piper and various aviation-related businesses, Historic Dodger Town, the Indian River <br /> Mall, Gateway Industrial Park, the County maintenance facility, a Florida Department of Transportation maintenance facility, and <br /> several packinghouses. For that reason, Gifford appears to offer relatively easy access to several employment centers. In fact, no <br /> other area of the County is as close to as many employment opportunities as Gifford. Despite that fact, Gifford residents have lower <br /> median household and per capita incomes than the County as a whole. <br /> Employment opportunities are continuing to increase in the Gifford area. With additional building occurring on the west part of the <br /> airport,jobs are being created adjacent to Gifford's south boundary. Several industrial projects in or around Gifford can be expected <br /> to create higher paying industrial jobs and provide employment opportunities for Gifford residents. <br /> To take advantage of these employment opportunities, Gifford residents must have the skills necessary for the jobs. Currently, <br /> several job training programs exist in Gifford. Even more so now than in the past, these efforts must be focused on the skills needed <br /> for the jobs that will be created. Education, vocational and technical training, as well as job placement, are keys to getting better <br /> paying jobs. <br /> ➢ Issues and Problems <br /> Several factors appear to be related to Gifford's lower income and high un-employment rates. Some of those factors include lack of <br /> investors, low high school graduation rate, low skill levels and access to jobs. Those factors are discussed in other sections of this <br /> document. There are issues over which the County has some degree of control or influence, such as improved infrastructure and <br /> certain transportation services. In contrast, the County has little control or influence over other factors such as lack of investors, <br /> overall economy, high school graduation rate, vocational training, and access to better paying jobs, which relate to Gifford's lower <br /> income and higher unemployment rates. Those factors are influenced by other agencies and organizations such as the School <br /> District, Indian River State College, the Chamber of Commerce, and investors. Factors not significantly influenced by the County <br /> are discussed below. <br /> Vocational Training <br /> Lack of vocational training contributes to high unemployment. In the past, there were insufficient opportunities for vocational and <br /> technical training within reach of the Gifford community. However, currently Vero Beach and Sebastian high schools as well as <br /> Indian River State College provide technical and vocational training programs for students and adults. Therefore, Gifford students <br /> and adults need to be brought into those programs and programs need to be made accessible to, responsive to, and shaped for <br /> Gifford residents. <br /> h <br /> Community Development Indian River County 51 <br />