The Hampton Roads Workforce Council in partnership with the Greater Peninsula Workforce Board hosted the Inaugural Joint Annual Meeting and Workforce Innovation Awards on Oct. 2 at the Renaissance Portsmouth-Norfolk Waterfront Hotel. The Meeting and Awards highlighted workforce development programs, services and accomplishments over the past year for both organizations.
The Joint Annual Meeting highlighted the newly formed partnership with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council and the Greater Peninsula Workforce Board, which was introduced as the Southeastern Regional Workforce Collaborative in 2018.
Within the last year, the Hampton Roads Workforce Council and Greater Peninsula Workforce Board served 14,903 customers combined through their respective Virginia Career Works locations; 8,762 youth and young adults collectively through programs aimed at the emerging workforce; and more than 5,567 visits at the Hampton Roads Veterans Employment Center.
During the meeting, Hampton Roads Workforce Council President and CEO Shawn Avery announced a new partnership with Elizabeth River Crossing—The Connecting Opportunities Program. The program will assist local underserved and underskilled community members to higher-paying, more stable opportunities through skilled trade education. Thirty students per year will receive funding to complete a three- to six-week program through Tidewater Community College’s Skilled Trades Academy. Participants will represent the Workforce Council’s target job seekers. Elizabeth River Crossings will contribute $67,000 per year for three years, totaling $201,000, to support this program.
The meeting closed with the 2019 Workforce Innovation Awards caremony which recognizes businesses, community organizations, educational institutions and individuals for their longstanding commitment to workforce development and impact on the region’s economy. This year’s honorees included:
- Community Based Organization – VersAbility Resources
- Education – New Horizons Regional Education Center
- Business – Ferguson
- Regional Innovator – Allfirst Industrial Contractors & Auxiliary Systems
- Workforce Champion of the Year – Amanda L. Slosson, Regional Transition Assistance Program Coordinator, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic
