In accordance with 2023 legislation, this report provides a comprehensive assessment of Virginia’s workforce development ecosystem, with the goal of improving efficiency and effectiveness. The analysis addresses four primary topics: (i) the adequacy of collaboration among programs; (ii) the organization and duties of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement (Virginia Works); (iii) the operations and jurisdictions of Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs); and (iv) the role of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) in workforce development.

The workforce ecosystem in Virginia encompasses over 60 programs administered by a complex array of state agencies, local entities, and educational institutions. Fragmentation, redundancy, and limited data integration have historically hindered service delivery. However, the current administration and some of its key partners have made significant strides in improving the Commonwealth’s workforce development system, facilitating greater collaboration across the ecosystem, standing up Virginia Works, improving operations of local workforce boards, and helping to scale some of VCCS’ most effective programs. Some notable accomplishments include:

• Establishing Virginia Works: The administration established a new agency in 2024 to strategically align workforce efforts, marking a significant step toward increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Commonwealth’s workforce ecosystem. Over the last year, the agency has focused on centralizing coordination of programs and launching efforts to improve transparency, develop programmatic partnerships, and strengthen crossagency communication. Virginia Works has established itself as a collaborative ecosystem leader, supporting individuals, local boards, and employers alike.

• Tracking programs, metrics, shared data: Virginia Works has begun to advance this vision by creating a public-facing program catalog, building a foundation for shared, standardized performance metrics, and promoting integrated data usage via the Workforce Data Trust.

• Improving program service delivery: Virginia Works has also been driving improvements to individual workforce programs and tools, such as embedding Registered Apprenticeship consultants into American Job Centers (AJCs) to increase the number of apprentices and transitioning Workforce Services Representatives (WSRs) to Career Navigators to enhance Title III service delivery.

• Launching new job-seeker tools: Virginia Works has launched sites like Virginiaworks.gov to streamline the Commonwealth’s workforce services and VirginiaHasJobs.com to improve job attainment and the job-seeker experience. VirginiaHasJobs has been an instrumental resource in connecting individuals to apprenticeships and jobs, especially those impacted by federal workforce changes and layoffs.

• Serving residents with flexible job placement services: At the local level, LWDBs continue to play a pivotal role in direct service delivery. Though there is variation in capacity and resourcing across Virginia’s 14 regions, boards play an important role in facilitating job placements (often for those with barriers to employment), contributing to high satisfaction among individuals who receive services from local job centers. Many have expanded digital service delivery post-COVID and are participating in coalitions and supporting partnerships to align educational offerings with local labor market and talent needs.

• Expanding VCCS programs that serve the labor market: VCCS remains a cornerstone of Virginia’s workforce training infrastructure, delivering both credit and non-credit programs aligned with high-demand occupations. Programs like Fast Forward and G3 have demonstrated strong enrollment growth and alignment to the Commonwealth’s labor market. VCCS institutions often act as active sponsors or intermediaries for apprenticeships and have expanded their role in work-based learning through partnerships with employers and state agencies.

Nonetheless, several opportunities remain. To further promote collaboration:

• Virginia Works should lead a process, with relevant Secretaries and agencies, to develop a state-wide workforce development strategy for the Commonwealth. Agencies should align operating plans with this state-wide strategy, and continue cross-agency collaboration through implementation

• Virginia Works should continue to collect metrics on workforce programs across systems, with agencies contributing their program data. Over time, Virginia Works should enable use of this data to inform strategic and programmatic decisions, while providing ample context on differences in programs’ objectives, target populations, and constraints

• Several ecosystem stakeholders (including Virginia Works, VCCS, Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), intermediaries) should collaborate to market a single menu of work-based learning opportunities, and double participation in them

• Virginia Works in partnership with Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE) should leverage the Commonwealth's data and analytics assets including the Workforce Data Trust, VOEE, Virginia Longitudinal Data System (VLDS), and the Economic Information & Analytics (EIA) team in Virginia Works to inform service delivery decisions and provide increasingly consistent, timely, digestible, and actionable information to state and region-level leaders across economic development, workforce, education, and partner systems

Opportunities specifically for Virginia Works include:

• Continue to hone Virginia Works’ value proposition and brand, and articulate it clearly and consistently to partners and customers

• Develop mutually-reinforcing, trusting partnership with LWDBs, supporting grant applications, convenings, best practices and content, data and insights, and providing an integrated, seamless, omni-channel customer experience

• Continue to build internal agency capacity; further embed a culture of collaboration and customer centricity demonstrated by leadership throughout all levels of the organization, with an initial focus on Title III Career Navigators

• Lead rollout and ongoing enhancement of technology solutions across the ecosystem to improve reach and experience for individuals and employers

At the local level, joint accountability between local boards and other actors can improve outcomes:

• Virginia Works has established a robust accountability framework for LWDBs through the adoption of statewide performance metrics approved by the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. These six core metrics—ranging from job placements to wage growth—are now being operationalized across all local areas. Virginia Works should continue to build on this foundation by refining data collection, setting benchmarks, and strengthening annual performance reviews to ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery statewide.

• Virginia Works should facilitate a process to convene cross-sector, state and local stakeholders to collaboratively define what an effective local workforce development ecosystem looks like. Stakeholders can use this as a basis for constructive ongoing state-region dialogue that spans systems (e.g., economic development, workforce, education, social services in dialogue together)

• Virginia Works and local boards can collaboratively support an integrated, seamless, omni-channel customer experience for individuals and employers including integrated case management and service delivery, and tech-enabled options

• Local boards should increase non-Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding to fill service gaps, support innovation, and respond more flexibly to the evolving needs of individuals and employers

• Local actors that engage with employers (including LWDB Business Services Teams, Title III employees, community colleges, local economic development entities, Virginia Works' Rapid Response Team, and the Regional Talent Solutions & Business Outreach team of the VEDP), should proactively drive coordinated employer marketing, outreach, and support across actors through alignment, collaboration, and transparency

Virginia Community College System should work to:

• Expand Fast Forward and other workforce training offerings to provide increased access to high-value skills and credentials that align with state workforce development priorities, while continuing to improve outcomes

• Deepen partnerships with other ecosystem players (e.g., Virginia Works, LWDBs) to deliver end-to-end services for customers while fostering coordination to ensure services are aligned and easy for customers to navigate Addressing these opportunities will help the Commonwealth achieve its workforce goals, including making Virginia the top state for talent.(*1)
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(*1) VEDP Strategic Plan, FY25-29