The Central Virginia Community College CTE Academy is a GO Virginia Region 2 project that is delivering necessary workforce training for individuals in Central Virginia Community College’s service region. I spoke with Christopher Bryant, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Central Virginia Community College, and Jason Ferguson, Associate Vice President of Professional & Career Studies at Central Virginia Community College, about their project.

1. What is your career background and what led you to your current role?

CB: I have been in marketing and non-profit work for all of my career. Being able to gather resources to provide opportunity to those in need is important to me.

JF: My background is in public safety, and I have been involved in many aspects including law enforcement, fire services, and EMS. I came to Central Virginia Community College in 2005 to run the public safety education programs and in doing so, gained a better understanding of how to plug workforce-related activities into college's academic side.

2. What gave you the idea for this project?

CB: The idea goes back to more than a decade in this region. In this area, we have a great need for developing a pipeline for talent. Our president, Dr. John Capps, is very in tune with the leaders of this community and region. Everybody leans on us because Central Virginia Community College is wellpositioned to be in the middle of the training pipeline. This initiative truly is Dr. Capps’ idea, but he would say it is the region’s need that brought this project to life.

3. How does this project hope to address the challenges of retaining talent in the region?

JF: We want to be a hub to connect students, getting them educated, trained, and placed in jobs to serve the local workforce. The best way to retain talent is by working together. We will align students with some of our businesses, helping them find opportunities and jobs that fit their skill sets best. When they realize they can find opportunity right here in the Greater Lynchburg area, they know they need to look no further.

4. What are some examples of the skills and certifications students will learn through the workforce academy?

CB: We did a two-year planning study prior to applying for the GO Virginia grant. In that study, we brought industry and community leaders to the table to help us plan for the regional CTE Academy, which put us in a good position. Those leaders suggested dedicating more time to the soft skills required for basic employment, including interviewing well and showing up on time. We also heard about the specific training needed in the area.

JF: The critical industries our credential programs are focused on include mechatronics, computer networking, IT, cybersecurity, machine tool welding, and electrical and industrial maintenance. There are several embedded credentials, which means when students complete academic courses, they may be able to get certain certifications as well, including MT1, computer numeric control, and National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). To expand soft skills, we are in the process of adding SkillsUSA to our curriculum. The goal for us is to make sure everyone knows Career and Technical Education is a viable career path. For so long, we’ve promoted academia and four-year degrees as the standard, but there are so many different opportunities where people can get trained and go into the workforce quickly. The CTE Academy’s certifications and credentials will lead to that result.

5. What have you accomplished through your project so far?

CB: Even though we’ve done planning, we’ve just gotten started on the GO Virginia portion of the project. We’ve hired a Coordinator of Business Partnerships and a Coordinator of CTE Initiatives, who are directly accountable for the work that needs to be done. We have also held our first general stakeholder’s meeting, which far exceeded our expectations. That meeting had around 150 people on the call, including local CEOs, presidents, and superintendents.

JF: The right people were at that stakeholder’s meeting, and you could see the excitement it generated.

6. What do you plan to accomplish with your project within the next year?

JF: We’re trying to increase enrollment, the number of credentials produced, and business involvement, which will lead to more talent that’s readily available. We want Central Virginia Community College to be the education institution people think of when they need job and skills training.

7. What organizations have you partnered with and what do you enjoy most about working with them?

CB: We are most adjoined with the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, which serves as our chamber for this geographic area. We’ve worked with Virginia Career Works, our local employment engine that finds under or unemployed jobs in the region. The local planning district commission, along with investing their time and talent, stepped up to do the 1/3 match. We also work with industry leaders and our K-12 partner schools, including the superintendents for all five of our local school districts. There are hundreds of groups represented in those K-12 partners and industries, and they’re some of our favorites to work with.

8. So far, what has been your favorite part of being a GOVA Grantee?

CB: The GO Virginia resources have given us the ability to focus our time and energy on what we truly believe will move the needle for job creation and career retention in the area. It’s great knowing we’ve got a supporter in our back pocket that will make sure we have the resources we need.

9. What advice would you give to a student who was unsure what they wanted to do for a career?

CB: That’s the beauty of our community college system and what Central Virginia Community College is tasked with doing. After you receive a certification, you can immediately start the next step and get another stackable certification if you decide that’s a career path you enjoy. If you didn’t like what you had started, you would only have invested several weeks of your time, and you can change courses. We are the grounds for career exploration; we can help you with your pathway, regardless of what it looks like now.

10. What hobbies/activities do you like to do in your spare time?

CB: I love golf and volleyball. I also enjoy anything music-related, so singing and dancing are fun for me. Most importantly, I love the outdoors; I do a lot of camping, hiking, and boating with my sons.

JF: Spending time with family and close friends. It’s important to me to keep those relationships strong.