Two years ago, we were privileged to sponsor an innovative new initiative to help Virginia businesses find the skilled workers they need, while simultaneously helping our residents learn new workplace skills and secure good-paying jobs.
We were genuinely excited when the General Assembly approved Virginia’s New Economy Workforce Credential Grants program with broad bipartisan support.
Now, the initial results of the program demonstrate our excitement was more than warranted. Based on early indicators, the program is meeting and surpassing even our most optimistic expectations.
Since the training initiative got underway in July 2016, approximately 4,500 Virginians have used the grants to train for and earn industry-recognized credentials in about 40 different high-demand occupations.
These are jobs that hiring managers have told us they’re eager to fill. Ranging from skilled trades to white collar cyber-security, education, logistics, health care technicians and advanced manufacturing, these are solid jobs with wages that often can sustain a family.
It is those wages that makes the success of the grants especially exciting. Early wage data indicate that the workforce credential grants are changing lives in a big way. In many cases, this program is lifting people out of poverty.
On average, people entering the program were making about $22,000 per year, well below Virginia’s median income of $42,000. After completing the program, armed with new skills and industry certifications, participants typically have seen increases in take-home pay ranging from 25 to 50 percent and even higher in some cases.
Just a sampling of the wage increases tell stories of success. People earning manufacturing certifications have seen 31 percent pay hikes; commercial truck drivers, 33 percent; health care administrators, 23 percent; and certified welders, 50 percent.
Other occupations such as construction workers, power line workers, and certified nursing assistants also are showing impressive pay increases for program participants, although it’s too early to cite numbers.
As we noted, these are early results, based on analysis of a participant’s income before entering one of the workforce grant programs and his or her income after earning an industry recognized credential, based on two or more quarters of earnings. But, it’s hard not to get excited about such encouraging results.
Importantly, these jobs do not require traditional college degrees. People can secure the requisite training at one of Virginia’s community colleges in weeks or months, instead of semesters and years.
To reflect how the New Economy Workforce Credential Grants program helps people transform and elevate their careers (without getting bogged down for years and amassing under a mountain of college debt), community colleges have given the programs a new name: FastForward. This is a rare instance of a government program practicing truth-in-branding.
The program is nothing short of a new path to the middle class. Two-thirds of program participants are new to community colleges. Significantly, 20 percent of program participants received some form of public assistance in the year before enrolling.
The 2016 General Assembly allocated $12.5 million for the program’s first two years. The pay-for-performance program sold out early each year, exhausting the grant funding.
The budget introduced by outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe in December proposed $9.5 million for the grants in each of the next two years. That’s a good start and a much-needed improvement, but we’re hoping the legislature can do even better.
This money is a solid investment that is paying dividends. Businesses are finding more of the workers they need to thrive and grow. Virginians are learning the skills they need to succeed. And, Virginia is getting the skilled workforce it needs to compete in the 21st century marketplace.
Since people who earn more money contribute to a growing economy and become productive, taxpaying citizens, everyone wins.
Let’s keep the momentum going.
You can learn more about the training programs funded by Virginia’s New Economy Workforce Credential Grants at www.fastforwardva.org.
Ruff, a Republican, represents Senate District 15, which stretches across a portion of Southside Virginia. Email him at district15@senate.virginia.gov. Byron represents House District 22, which is in the Bedford-Lynchburg area. Email her at delkbyron@house.virginia.gov.
