Workforce Readiness Wins!

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

Jim Charapich

July 8th, 2013

My Twitter post from June 22nd has gained some attention. I was attending the Virginia Leadership Summit developed by Senator Mark Warner. There were several interactive panel discussions as part of the day long program. One of the panels was especially interesting to me. There were several business leaders representing industry in regions of the Commonwealth. My Tweet of interest from the during the event - Tom Dale VP Rolls-Royce " The State that distinguishes itself as workforce ready will be the big winner".

It was quite interesting to have Rolls Royce, Areva, Newport News Shipbuilding, and HDL, Inc. on one panel. The issue of most interest was the need for trained and ready workforce. The business environment is competitive and dynamic. Our need for an educational system that is adaptive and prepared to deliver a workforce that is ready is critical. Today we are competing in the global marketplace for businesses to locate in Virginia. Our workforce is a cornerstone in building sustainable prosperity.

To further the discussion, my subsequent tweet - William Bell Newport News Shipbuilding "Students can live the American Dream with a technical skill ILO a college degree". This discussion continued with the notion that we should work regionally to develop High School Career & Technical programs. It is clear that educational dollars are very stretched in each community. It is therefore conceivable that we could work together with other Counties to develop 21st century educational opportunities in areas such as welding, plumbing, auto mechanics, etc.

I was in South Boston, VA recently as part of LEAD VA and had the opportunity to tour the SVHEC - Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. At first glance the training area looked like a traditional wood shop. However, as our tour progressed the revelation of the way the facility is used brought a very different conclusion. The facility used wood as a material in a training process for manufacturing. The wood shop equipment was part of the outcome of the main work being done in the CAD design room. The students even had a product that they were preparing to patent and ready for marketable release. What of the revenue... could it come back into the school with potential rewards to the students as well? A far leap from the traditional wood shop of the past. Now, it is about concept, design, manufacturing process, and potential marketable results.

We have an opportunity to transform traditional thinking about the fields known as "The Trades". Today, they include Advanced Manufacturing & Computer Aided Design, in addition to electronic, mechanical, and welding skills. There are jobs ready for trained workers today in these fields. Our responsibility is to support an educational resource that enables job ready candidates. They will need jobs and business will need them. If we choose not to support these career choices, we will see these jobs in another region, state, or country.