Reynolds CC to implement career training, coaching and job placement for young adults

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College will use its portion of a recent $2 million grant from Governor Ralph Northam to fund its accelerated training, career coaching and job placement program that will be specifically geared toward 18- and 24-year-olds.

The young adult initiative, which does not yet have a name, is a subset of FastForward, or the short-term training course program available to any Virginia resident offered through the state’s community colleges.

This particular grant will fund the initiative that will provide 18- to 24-year-old Virginians with career exploration and planning, accelerated occupational skills training, supportive services, digital and soft skills training and job placement assistance.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, more than 105,000 Virginians between ages of 18 and 24 are neither attending school nor working. The unemployment rate in Virginia for this age group, at 12 percent, is nearly four times the rate for the Commonwealth as a whole.

In addition to Reynolds, the initiative will launch at four other community colleges throughout the Commonwealth: Thomas Nelson in the Virginia peninsula, John Tyler in the Richmond area, and Southside and Patrick Henry in Southern Virginia.

Each community college will partner with its local workforce development boards and other community partners to recruit and train young adults to fill jobs in high-demand fields.

In Henrico and the surrounding Richmond area, these fields consist primarily of manufacturing, warehouse distribution and logistics and healthcare occupations, said Elizabeth Creamer, vice president of workforce development and credential attainment for the Community College Workforce Alliance.

CCWA is a workforce development partnership between Reynolds and John Tyler Community Colleges that provides non-credit training and educational programs, such as FastForward and the new young adult initiative.

CCWA has been beta-testing the young adult program at Reynolds and John Tyler throughout the past year, Creamer said. It was because of the program’s success that the two schools were selected among the five recipients of Northam’s grant, she said.

The two-year project will cover student costs associated with tuition, fees, books and examinations for credentials approved under the FastForward program.

CCWA also will use the money to provide support services for students.

“We’re helping students with transportation if they need it,” Creamer said. “We’re connecting them to childcare if they need it.”

Since the inception of FastForward two years ago, CCWA has awarded about 2,000 credentials to students, CCWA Director of Marketing Nina Sims said. The program’s success throughout Virginia influenced the decision to fund the new young adult initiative.

“In order for our Commonwealth to maintain a highly-skilled, attractive workforce we need to make sure that every student has the opportunity to create a successful future,” Northam said. “With this initiative we will help prepare young Virginians with the skills and training that employers are looking for and provide critical support to our youth as they start to build careers.”

Those who are interested in participating in the Richmond area, on the Virginia peninsula, and in Southern Virginia should visit www.fastforwardva.org and select the Contact Us link to be connected with a FastForward coach.