Virginia’s community colleges on Aug. 11 announced the launch of a Virginia Infrastructure Academy to address the needs within the infrastructure industries.
“The availability of a trained, skilled workforce continues to stand out as a significant challenge to infrastructure construction and maintenance industries in the commonwealth,” Sharon Morrissey, interim chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, said in a news release.
Recent data revealed companies are struggling to fill more than 100,000 infrastructure jobs in Virginia.
VCCS seeks to address the problem by coordinating existing infrastructure-related courses across all 23 of Virginia’s community colleges, with a goal to produce 35,000 skilled and credentialed workers across those industries in the next five years.
The programs include heavy construction and maintenance; a focus on road, bridge and tunnel construction; broadband expansion; and on-shore and off-shore wind and solar energy infrastructure and distribution.
“This is vital to the success of many Virginia businesses,” Virginia Secretary of Labor George “Bryan” Slater said in a news release. “Our infrastructure workforce demands are growing daily, and initiatives like the Virginia Infrastructure Academy will help ensure that skilled and qualified people are available for hire, leading to a best-in-class workforce in Virginia.”
The Lumina Foundation is paying the academy’s start-up costs with a two-year $400,000 grant, according to a release.
The money supports an initial review of existing infrastructure programs across Virginia’s 23 community colleges, a plan for initial program growth through in-person and virtual offerings, and outreach to potential students.
Jason Ferguson, associate vice president of professional and career studies at Lynchburg’s Central Virginia Community College, said it’s a matter of getting the information out to students.
“For CVCC, we have several programs that fall into this area such as electrical, welding, maintenance, solar and other renewable energies, electrical vehicles and related programs there,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said CVCC will continue to try to meet the needs of businesses as they are looking toward the future to address any needs businesses may have.
“As businesses let us know what those needs are, then it’s our job to try to figure out how to meet those training needs,” Ferguson said.
