Virginia's Growing Skills Gap and Workforce Challenges
Virginia confronts a widely acknowledged skills gap, with about 249,000 unfilled jobs.
Virginia is facing a significant skills gap, with nearly 249,000 job openings that employers are struggling to fill. This skills gap is exacerbated by the state's consistent net negative out-migration over the past nine years, as well as a projected decline in K-12 populations in the coming years.
The Importance of Postsecondary Credentials for Virginians
There are 3.2 million Virginians lacking postsecondary credentials.
Currently, there are approximately 3.2 million Virginians who lack postsecondary credentials. For many individuals, accessing one of Virginia's 23 community colleges is the best pathway to gain the skills needed for good jobs.
Community Colleges: A Solution for Adult Learners and ALICE Population
Virginia's community colleges serve all Virginians, but an important population is adult learners looking to skill, reskill or upskill. Many of these adult learners are known as ALICE, a United Way term that signals a working class that is often one missed paycheck away from economic instability.
Virginia's community colleges play a crucial role in serving adult learners who are seeking to gain new skills or upgrade their existing ones. Many of these adult learners fall into a category coined as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These individuals are part of the working class and are often just one missed paycheck away from financial instability.
Virginia's Community Colleges Revitalizing Workforce Development
To fulfill their dual role as individual and workforce economic mobility engines and the answer to the talent question, Virginia's community colleges are realigning and revitalizing themselves to leverage resources to address critical regional business needs.
Recognizing their responsibility as engines of individual and workforce economic mobility, Virginia's community colleges are actively working to align themselves with critical regional business needs. By leveraging available resources, these colleges are taking steps to address skill gaps and meet the talent demands of local industries.
FastForward: A Pathway to High-Demand Careers
For students, this means pursuing industry certifications through FastForward, a pay-for-performance, short-term career training program, where they pay one-third of the cost of tuition with grant funding supporting the rest. Training courses focus on high-demand careers with a local connection. This program works. Recent data shows students completing the program saw an average increase in wages of $11,746.
One of the programs offered by Virginia's community colleges is FastForward, which provides students with the opportunity to pursue industry certifications in high-demand fields. This short-term career training program operates on a pay-for-performance model, where students cover one-third of the tuition cost, and grant funding supports the rest. Recent data demonstrates the success of this program, with students who completed the program experiencing an average increase in wages of $11,746.
G3: Making Education Accessible for Low/Middle Income Students
Another program, G3, puts education for high-demand occupations within reach of low/middle-income students who want applied associate degrees. This tuition assistance program is a last-dollar support: After federal and state aid are applied, the funding covers the remainder of the tuition costs. The latest data shows median wages of G3 graduates increased by 95% within six months of graduation.
Virginia's community colleges offer the G3 program, which aims to make education accessible to low and middle-income students who are interested in pursuing applied associate degrees in high-demand occupations. G3 is a tuition assistance program that covers the remaining costs of tuition after federal and state aid have been applied. Recent data highlights the success of the program, with G3 graduates experiencing a 95% increase in median wages within six months of graduation.
Expanding the Talent Pipeline for Key Industries
Our community colleges seek to expand the talent pipeline in Hampton Roads for industries such as health care, skilled trades, and energy. To get more workers into the pipeline, training programs must be innovated, scaled, and promoted.
Virginia's community colleges are actively working to expand the talent pipeline in key industries such as healthcare, skilled trades, and energy in the Hampton Roads region. To achieve this, training programs need to be continuously innovated, scaled, and promoted to attract more individuals into these high-demand fields.
Investing in Virginia's Community Colleges
To compete effectively with neighboring states such as North Carolina and Tennessee, which are making record investments in their community colleges, Virginia must make similar investments. A recent study confirmed dollars invested in Virginia's community colleges pay big dividends.
To stay competitive with neighboring states like North Carolina and Tennessee, both of which are making significant investments in their community college systems, Virginia must also prioritize investments in its community colleges. A recent study highlighted the significant returns on investment for dollars spent on Virginia's community colleges.
Conclusion: Building a Stronger Future for Virginia
With additional funding, the region's community colleges can continue to build upon their successes by expanding state-of-the-art programs, increasing the supply of skilled workers, and meeting the industry needs in our region.
By providing additional funding to Virginia's community colleges, these institutions can further enhance their programs, train more skilled workers, and effectively meet the industry demands in the region. This will contribute to a stronger and more prosperous future for Virginia and its residents.
Analyst comment
Positive news. Analyst: Virginia’s community colleges are addressing the skills gap and providing opportunities for adult learners to gain valuable credentials. Programs like FastForward and G3 have shown positive outcomes in terms of increased wages and employment. However, Virginia needs to invest more in community colleges to compete with neighboring states and maximize the social and economic benefits they offer.
