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Governer Warner Recognizes First Round of Recipients
of Virginia Career Readiness Certificates
RICHMOND -- Governor Mark R. Warner today recognized the first round of recipients of the Virginia Career Readiness Certificate, acknowledging businesses that have worked to certify their employees, and more than 5,200 recipients of the certificate.
"Employers know that the costs of hiring, training, and retention significantly affect their bottom line," said Governor Warner. "The cost of making a good hire is high; the cost of making a bad hire is even greater. In its first year, the Career Readiness Certificate has given more than 5,000 Virginians a portable credential to prove their skills to an employer."
Virginia�s Career Readiness Certificate was launched last year under the Workforce Development reforms of Governor Warner�s Education for a Lifetime initiative.
The certificate was created to assist employers by certifying that a recipient possesses competency skills in Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information that are required by more than 85% of all jobs in the nation. Each certificate includes a complete description of what these skill levels mean, and therefore what the recipient can do. It certifies that job seekers have the core employability skills required across multiple industries and occupations.
Virginia is also working with workforce offices in 11 other states and the District of Columbia to make the Career Readiness Certificate a standard document, recognized across state lines, through a Career Readiness Certificates Consortium.
"For an employer who may be contemplating moving his or her business to Virginia or expanding an existing company, the skill level of the available workforce is often a deciding factor," said Barbara Bolin, Special Advisor to the Governor for Workforce Development. "This new credential can be a powerful economic development tool in the Commonwealth."
Virginians can earn a Career Readiness Certificate through the community college system, or at any Virginia Workforce Network Career Center. The new credential is supported by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Manufacturers Association, and the AFL-CIO.
Among those corporations honored by the Governor today for their efforts to incorporate the Career Readiness Certificate into their employee training or hiring process are: BWX Technologies Nuclear Products Division in Lynchburg, Celanese Acetate in Narrows, Rex Roto in South Hill, Northrop Grumman Newport News, Siemens VDO Automotive in Newport News, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Richmond.
The Governor also offered recognition to the Patrick County Education Foundation and Patrick Henry Community College, which are partnering in an initial effort to provide Career Readiness Certificate training to 90 county residents. The Foundation is paying for the program. Prior to the development of the Career Readiness Certificate program under Governor Warner, the Foundation had already begun searching for a program which would provide training and certification as well as documentation of a workforce sufficient to attract new businesses and the jobs they create.
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Local Workforce Board Awarded $10,000 Marketing Grant
ROANOKE, Va. (October 8, 2004) - The Western Virginia Workforce Development Board (WDB) has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Employment Commission. The grant will be used to inform area businesses how local workforce programs can enhance their recruitment of new employees as well as improve the skills and education of current employees.
This is an outstanding opportunity for not only the workforce efforts in the area but also economic development as a whole, said Bruce Wood, executive director for the WDB. Much of WDB�s focus is improving the quality of the current and future workforce. However, an additional important component of workforce development is its less well known strategic value for attracting and growing businesses. We hope to educate businesses of all sizes through special events and closer communication.
This grant will enable us to get our message out to our two constituent groups: employers and employees said Rob Glenn, chair of the WDB Board. "This is our second pilot grant from Richmond and we are pleased that Roanoke can be a leader as the state-wide workforce development program becomes more clearly defined to fit the needs of our constituents."
The WDB was one of only three Workforce Investment Act Areas in the state to receive the grant. Workforce boards in Lynchburg and Northern Virginia also were awarded grants.
The WDB will use the grant for a series of events linking businesses and workforce partners as well as development of tools for communicating with businesses. Those will include establishment of a print and electronic newsletter, enhanced program information on the board�s web site and production of other materials.
The Area III WDB is one of 17 Area boards throughout the state of Virginia charged with administering federal funds provided to the states under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). Programs focus on training, retraining and overcoming obstacles to employment in three areas: dislocated workers, adults with barriers to employment and youth. More than 500 people currently are served throughout Area III, which cover the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Roanoke, and the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem.
For more information on the WDB or the new grant, contact the board office at 540-767-6149 or visit the web page at www.westernvaworkforce.com.
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Roanoke Workforce Center Certified by Commonwealth
ROANOKE, Va. (October 8, 2004) - The Roanoke Workforce Center at Valley View Mall has earned Certification for Workforce Investment Centers from the Virginia Workforce Council. The center provides workers age 14 and older with services ranging from career counseling to education and training.
The center is operated under the auspices of the Western Virginia Workforce Development Board (WDB), one of 17 boards throughout the state. One-stop centers bring together in one location a variety of programs and services to more effectively prepare job seekers for employment and incumbent workers for advancement.
The six-month certification process involved demonstrating the center met all the criteria for a one-stop center as outlined in The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). Requirements include:
The center also demonstrated proper staff training, reporting and referral processes. Bruce Johannessen, Roanoke Workforce Center Director, attributed the Roanoke certification to efforts by members of the area�s three workforce centers including Covington and Rocky Mount, which have begun their own certification processes. Each workforce area is required to have at least one certified one-stop center.
WIA One-stop centers are part of a larger workforce program which focuses on training, retraining and overcoming obstacles to employment for dislocated workers, adults with barriers to employment and youth. More than 500 people currently are served throughout Area III by WIA programs and services, which cover the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Roanoke, and the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem. The workforce system in Western Virginia is guided by business, government and community organizations and is closely tied to regional economic growth trends.
For more information on the WDB or the Area III Workforce Centers, please contact the board office at 540-767-6149 or visit the web page at www.westernvaworkforce.com
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VEC-Roanoke joins CareerFest 2004
Workforce Development Board partner Virginia Employment Commission - Roanoke will participate in CareerFest 2004 Tuesday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County.
Other participants include: Medical Facilities of America, Ntelos, EchoStar, Leads.com, Friendship Manor, Member One Federal Credit Union, Virginia Premier Health Plan, AFLAC, Action Personnel, Richfield Retirement Community , Manpower, Randstad, Hotel Roanoke, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Walker Machine and Foundry , Lutheran Family Services of Virginia , Medical Staffing Network, The Roanoke Times, Clear Channel Radio, Penske Logistics, Roanoke County and Boddie-Noell.
For more information call 981-3311 or visit the CareerFest web site.
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Annual Football Classic to Benefit TAP
Virginia Union and Livingstone College face off in the Fifth Annual Western Virginia Education Classic Saturday, Sept. 11, at Victory Stadium in Roanoke at 4 p.m. Proceeds benefit WDB partner Total Action Against Poverty's Project Recovery. Project Recovery encourages high school dropouts to get a high school diploma or GED which reduces an individuals chance of ending up in prison or on public assistance.
In partnership with Roanoke City Schools and Radford University School of Social Work, Project Recovery seeks out students who have recently dropped out of Roanoke City Schools. Through counseling of dropouts and families, students re-enroll in the school system or other remedial or alternative education, job-related learning, employment, or a combination. More than 400 people have completed the program since it began in 2000.
Game-day activities feature football, vendors, tailgating, marching bands, New Dimension Band (a Go-Go Band from Richmond featuring the former lead singer of Black Street) and a step show following the game. Also a performance by the VMI Color Guard, recognition of 9/11 victims and prize drawings.
Tickets $ 5 students; $10 adults ($15 at the gate) are available at TAP, the Roanoke Civic Center and CMT. For more information call TAP at (540) 767-6221.
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Goodwill Industries of the Valleys
Celebrates New Facility Opening
ROANOKE - Goodwill Industries of the Valleys celebrated the opening of its new facility on Melrose Avenue in Roanoke with an open house on Tuesday, July 28. The open house included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a tour of the facility.
 
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Franklin County One-Stop Center
to
Share in $15 million Grant
ROCKY MOUNT - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced more than $15 million in 2004 Community
Development Block Grant offers to 25 Virginia localities. The grants will benefit low- and
moderate-income residents and fund housing creation and rehabilitation projects, public water
and sewer systems, downtown revitalization, and job training programs.
"As we work to bring jobs, businesses and technology to our communities, it's essential that
we also provide our citizens with the most basic and critical of needs," said Governor Warner.
"These grants will significantly improve our communities by creating safe and affordable housing
and connecting more homes with clean and safe public water."
The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) program for the state. Virginia receives up to $24 million annually from the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the CDBG program. The Department of
Housing and Community Development (DHCD) allocates the funds on a competitive basis to eligible
non-metropolitan cities, counties, and towns. In accordance with federal law, the majority of
CDBG projects benefit low- and moderate-income persons.
Governor Warner announced the $15 million grant package at the site of the future Franklin
County Workforce Development Center. DHCD awarded Franklin County $700,000 in CDBG funding
to develop the project. The center will be a one-stop shop for workforce development training,
featuring coordinated state and local services offered by the Franklin County public schools,
the Virginia Employment Commission, Patrick Henry and Virginia Western Community colleges, the
Virginia Departments of Social Services and Rehabilitative Services, local adult education
programs, and others.
"As we work to support new and expanding businesses in Virginia, it is critical to develop a
highly trained workforce," said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Michael J. Schewel. "I am
pleased that several of these grants will support workforce development centers that will
prepare Virginians for gainful employment."
Fourteen of the 25 approved projects will create new or rehabilitate existing housing to
ensure safe and affordable housing options for more than 400 Virginians. Additionally,
a majority of the grants announced will fund critical infrastructure projects such as public
water and sewer systems that will connect more than 3,000 Virginians with clean and safe
running water.
"Our agency is committed to eliminating substandard housing in Virginia," said Bill Shelton,
DHCD Director. "The CDBG program has proven extremely effective in helping us achieve that
goal," said Shelton. "DHCD is proud to offer these grants which will significantly increase
safe and affordable housing opportunities for low-income Virginians and bring running water
into more homes across the state."
(-Excerpted from Governor's news release)
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News from the Virginia Workforce Center in Covington
The Virginia Workforce Center in Covington held a Job Fair on April
1 at the First Christian Church Family Life Center in Covington. Over 20 employers
participated. Sponsors of the event were the Alleghany Highlands and Bath County
Chambers of Commerce, the Covington Workforce Center, Dabney S. Lancaster Community
College, the Tech Prep Consortium of Southwestern VA, the Alleghany/Covington Dept.
of Social Services and the West Virginia Job Service in Lewisburg, WV.
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Skills USA Competition
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys WIA/WDB Youth Participant
Latasha Wiley poses with Miss Virginia at the Skills USA Competition held on
Saturday, April 3, 2004.
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Refugee & Immigration Services Welcomes New Families
Refugee and Immigration Services welcomed the first families of Somali
Bantu to Roanoke on March 11, 2004. Two days later, after spending the last fourteen
years in a refugee camp in Kenya, they were taken by their sponsors to watch the St.Patrick�s
Day parade. If you were not there to appreciate this picture, the weather was cold;
there were several bag pipe bands, a contingent of greyhounds as well as Dalmatians,
and representatives of the HOGs (Harley Owner Group). How about that for an introduction
to their new home?
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