Workforce shortages and talent gaps are present on the Peninsula and throughout the commonwealth. As one of the leaders in the community, Virginia Peninsula Community College aims to be part of the solution.
On Friday, Dec. 15, the College held a seminar called “United for Impact: Bridging Higher Education, Communities and Businesses.” More than 100 people attended, and they represented local businesses, school systems and nonprofits.
“As with most challenges, we have this incredible opportunity,” VPCC President Dr. Towuanna Porter Brannon told those assembled at the Peninsula Workforce Development Center on the College’s Hampton Campus. “No one of us is as powerful as our collective together. I do believe that we can create solutions that are feasible, that are scalable, and that are sustainable to create workforce talent for today and also to build infrastructure that allow our community to thrive and to build talent pipelines for the very, very near future.”
The event began with a networking opportunity, and a discussion led by Congressmen Bobby Scott and Virginia Del. Rob Wittman followed. Topics included increasing internships, on-the-job training opportunities, and spreading the word out about community colleges and workforce training programs and certificates. The lawmakers closed with a question-and-answer session involving the audience.
“The best value in education is community college,” Scott said.
There was a second panel discussion with Tom Cosgrove (manager for external affairs for Newport News Shipbuilding), Jesse Goodrich (senior VP of human resources at Riverside Health System), and Matt Kellam (manager of workforce development and planning for Dominion Energy). It was facilitated by Bob McKenna, the president and CEO of Virginia Peninsula Chamber. They discussed hiring, retention, and community partnerships.
“We’re all in the partnership game,” said Todd Estes, VP of Workforce Development and Innovation at VPCC. “Everybody in this room is either a current partner or is partnering with someone else in the room, and so partnership is the name of the game. We know that.”
However, he stressed it’s arduous work.
“It’s constant nourishment, constant attention, constant adjustment. It takes constant work to maintain and sustain partnerships,” he said. “These conversations today help support those existing partnerships and grow those.”
The day concluded with a tour of three campus buildings showcasing the College’s welding, machining, marine electric, cybersecurity and nursing labs, and its drones.
As Beth Dickens, the associate dean of VPCC’s STEM division said, the seminar was just the beginning of their work.
“Together, this group will collaborate to understand the legislative landscape impacting higher education and the workforce in our region, learn about current VPCC educational opportunities, engage with industry experts about workforce pipeline challenges and opportunities, and explore ways to strengthen and sustain the pipeline,” she said. “Ultimately, what we discuss here today will shape the content and quality of educational and workforce opportunities for our students.”
Added Kerry Ragno, the College’s VP of Academic Affairs: “What we heard today was so exciting and so enlightening that I think that we’re going to have not only our work cut out for us but a lot of really good choices of places to start that will really benefit the workforce pipeline and our students here at VPCC.”
To see a video from the event, go to https://youtu.be/j76-FER_fqI.
To learn more about the College, visit www.vpcc.edu.