RD343 - Virginia Workforce Council 2009-2010 Annual Report


Executive Summary:
As chairman of the Virginia Workforce Council, it’s my pleasure to share with you the 2009-10 Virginia Workforce Council Annual Report.

The Virginia Workforce Council is a business-led board that acts as the principal adviser to the governor of Virginia. It provides strategic leadership to the Commonwealth regarding the state’s workforce development system and its efforts to create a strong workforce aligned with economic development objectives and employer needs. In addition, the Council serves as the state board for the federal Workforce Investment Act, setting policy and standards for the local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers.

The past 12 months have presented a challenge to many Virginians due to the effects of the longest and deepest downturn in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression.

Early this year, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the recession officially ended in June 2009. But that news is little comfort to thousands of Virginians still out of work as the lingering effects of the recession hinder their dreams of prosperity and success. Those dreams are at the heart of what it is to be an American.

In this report, we highlight initiatives and stories of success from the past 12 months that demonstrate how Virginia’s workforce development and services delivery system is helping maintain and facilitate those dreams. The following articles illustrate the types of efforts under way to redirect the Commonwealth’s workforce through education and training so Virginians can acquire new skills, find meaningful, economically self-sustaining work, get better jobs and increase their wages.

Even in an economic downturn, we helped Virginians get back to work in high-demand industries and the Commonwealth’s businesses meet their training needs.

The following is a brief synopsis of the initiatives and accomplishments for 2009-2010, as reported in detail on the pages of this report:

• Approximately 400,000 Virginians visited one of the Commonwealth’s 32 comprehensive One-Stop Career Centers during the program year.

• Fourteen of the 15 local workforce investment boards met or exceeded their employment placement and employment retention performance levels for adult and dislocated workers.

• More than 18,000 Virginians participated in one or more of the state’s youth, adult and dislocated worker programs with more than 7,000 receiving focused training services.

• More than 4,000 youth were provided services with the majority involved in the summer employment program to provide them with work-readiness skills and experience.

• Virginia’s Community College Career Coaches program worked with 38,691 high school students providing individual and small group counseling and training services.

• Virginia’s Community College Middle College program helped 1,118 18-to-24-year-old youth get their lives back on track through GED® and college-level training.

• The Virginia Education Wizard (www.VaWizard.org) assisted 300,190 individuals in career and college planning.

• Through the Career Readiness Certificate program, 5,708 Virginians documented their foundational skills in reading and math, which was more than a 10 percent increase over the previous year.

• Virginia’s Community College Workforce Development System made a significant impact on 6,497 Virginia businesses that used their services to train employees from July 2009 through June 2010.

On the following pages of "Meeting Virginia’s Workforce Needs," you’ll learn how education, literacy and training play major roles in the system and how we are measuring results. We also have provided information about unfilled jobs and skills gaps so you’ll better understand why the workforce partners are taking certain steps.

Finally, you’ll find articles about proposed strategies to strengthen and improve the performance of the workforce development system, including the Career Pathways initiative.

To our workforce development partners and all involved in this effort — thank you!

Dr. Robert P. Leber
Chair, Virginia Workforce Council