Virtual ChamberRVA sessions Feb. 11-12 designed to connect employers, employees
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ChamberRVA is hosting two virtual information sessions this week to connect employers with employees in the region.
On Feb. 11, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Feb. 12, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the organization will host sessions with Reynolds Community College's Re-Employing Virginia initiative and Greater Richmond Workforce Coalition's Network2Work. These two workforce initiatives are aimed at introducing employers in RVA with prospective employees.
Reynolds's REV initiative focuses on five "buckets" of programs, according to Dean of Students Wendy M. Bolt, including health care, information technology, skilled trades, public safety and early childhood education.
The Virginia Community College System received $27 million in funding to help Virginians who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. At Reynolds, officials ensure that students who are eligible are receiving these funds, and that they're getting the training they need to expand their career opportunities.
"What we wanted to do with this Reynolds REV initiative that we'll be talking about this week is two things: to help make sure that students are receiving these REV funds, and providing them with a lot of support related to their career," Bolt said.
Through the REV initiative, they plan to discuss useful resources that help with resume writing, interview skills, virtual career fairs, and more that's available at the college level to help with future employment.
The school has a slew of career services available to the community, according to Bernadette Battle, Reynolds' associate dean of advising services. After talking to a number of students, Reynolds officials found that they often felt too inexperienced, or that they could not find opportunities.
To help, officials created the College Career Central Network, a web-based tool that allows students to find job opportunities, internships, career events, job fairs and more. By joining the network, employees could try to "reinvent themselves for the new jobs that are out there,” Battle said.
The Greater Richmond Workforce Coalition's "Network2Work" initiative is creating a reliable talent pipeline by opening up opportunities for unemployed, underemployed and other workers in need of livable wages. Elizabeth Creamer, the vice president of workforce development and credential attainment at the Community College Workforce Alliance, said that the initiative is specifically designed to reach them.
"The underemployed, the unemployed, and individuals who maybe come from multiple generations of poverty, or near poverty, need help," Creamer said. "We have neighborhoods in Richmond – certainly, entire zip codes -– in which a significant percentage of the population really is not earning self-sustaining and family-sustaining wages."
One way that Network2Work reaches these communities is through the use of "neighborhood ambassadors,” who work at various workforce programs in RVA and are recruited to concentrate their focus on job services, education and training opportunities in underprivileged communities.
Brian Davis, the director of the Capital Region Workforce Partnership, said that recent funding has also supported plans for outreach.
"We have received some grant funding from Capital One that is going to enable us to do some professional marketing efforts and outreach as part of the Network2Work initiative," Davis said.
Sharaza Nelson, ChamberRVA's director of workforce programs, summed up the purpose of the virtual information sessions simply: "The Chamber is an organization of business leaders who essentially want the community to continue to grow by developing new business leaders," Nelson said. "We want to make sure that Virginia is the leader in business and business opportunities."
