In an article published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this past Sunday, Lieutenant Governor Bolling focused his attention on Virginia’s high unemployment in the manufacturing industry and the policies he plans to implement to combat the problem.

“Virginia has a long tradition of supporting a thriving manufacturing industry. However, during the past decade, the manufacturing sector in America has shed 5.5 million jobs. Here, in the Old Dominion, our once thriving manufacturing sector has fallen on especially hard times.” Currently, the Commonwealth’s unemployment in this industry is only surpassed by three states.

Among the tactics he proposes, Bolling highlights tax and regulatory reform, investment in our infrastructure (highlighting Governor McDonnell’s aggressive transportation proposal) and education.

“We also want to improve educational opportunities so businesses know that a skilled and educated work force awaits them if they invest in Virginia. And we want to provide the incentives that attract high-quality, advanced manufacturing business to the state.”

Standing ready to address this issue are Virginia’s Community Colleges who educate and train Virginia’s workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow through targeted programs. An example of one such program is the Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology Coach (MET-Coach), developed in Fall 2009 in collaboration with the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council.

MET-Coaches engage individuals in a planned sequence of training and career development activities designed to prepare them for today’s high performance manufacturing environment. Activities include: career assessment, career and educational planning, arranging certification testing, job searching and job search preparation and more. Blue Ridge, Danville, Tidewater, Thomas Nelson, and Virginia Western community colleges currently employ MET-Coaches.

A photo of Jeff Arnold (right), interim Vice President of Workforce Services at Danville Community College giving Governor McDonnell a tour of the Regional Center for Advanced Technology and Training last summer accompanied the print article on Sunday.

To learn more about this program and other workforce development services, visit the VCCS website.

Posted by Lauren Von Herbulis