Business and industry leaders from the region mingled with educators and politicians at Virginia Western Community College in late May for a town hall meeting on workforce development. It’s not a new subject – training people for skilled labor jobs that don’t require four years of college – but Virginia’s Chancellor of Community Colleges, Glen Dubois, was there to put a new spin on it.
Dubois said the lack of a trained, certified workforce without the proper credentials can mean that prospective employers will decide not to locate facilities in a region, going instead to other states or localities that help provide support for certification training.
Dr. Bobby Sandel, president of Virginia Western Community College, has long been a proponent of workforce development and in fact VWCC has many credit and non-credit programs to teach vocational skills. Sandel wants to see the state provide funding for those that cannot afford the tuition for a 3 or 6 month certification course – the people perhaps that need the most help finding a job they are trained for.
“We want to get these kids coming out of [high school] on a career path,” said Sandel, noting that all of the local school superintendents from the greater Roanoke region were on hand. Sandel said Dubois is traveling to all 23 community colleges in the Commonwealth, trying to build a coalition between the state legislature and industry, looking for funding for those non-credit courses.
“Those folks are out there but they can’t afford the tuition,” said Sandel, “[and] North Carolina, South Carolina and Maryland right around us have unlimited non-credit funding. We’re at a disadvantage in Virginia.” Sandel said nationally-recognized industry certifications that may take six weeks to six months to acquire is the next step in workforce development for institutions like Virginia Western, to go along with the associate’s degrees it offers. “A lot of those [certifications] have great pay.”
17th district delegate Chris Head says funding to help qualified students pay for non-credit courses comes up in the General Assembly every year; the question always is, “How are we going to pay for it?” Head liked the idea pitched by Dubois at the town hall, of tying any state funding to the outcomes – how did that tuition assistance turn into jobs? – rather than just to the number of people enrolled in a certification course. “I think that’s a better way to look at it.”
Persuading businesses to help support state funding for tuition will take some “creative thought,” said Head, a business owner himself. Dr. Rita Bishop, superintendent for Roanoke City Schools, said she was interested in developing “seamless programs with Virginia Western,” that makes the transition from high school to certification and a good-paying job that much easier. “I certainly realize the importance of our students being able to have middle class lifestyles and I’m completely on board.”
Dubois said employers tell him they can’t recruit enough workers for “these middle skill occupations …it’s not the engineers, it’s not the accountants, it’s not the HR people – they need to be supported by middle skill occupations. From electricians to welders to industrial maintenance to IT.”
A dearth of those middle skill, certified workers could mean companies will not set up shop here said Dubois – one major reason he is hoping business leaders will become part of a coalition to tackle the issue.
By Gene Marrano
