Thursday, April 6, 2017

from NOVA Workforce IT Sector Planning Next Steps

The follow-up session to the Building Regional Career Pathways event on September 15, 2016 focused on how to partner together to build successful career pathways for in-demand occupations as directed by WIOA with a focus on the Greater Washington region and the Information Technology sector. Emphasis was on Northern Virginia Technology Council’s (NVTC) December report on in-demand careers, skills needed by job-seekers, employer engagement and training partners to assist job-seekers on NOVA’s training options/guided career pathways. On February 15th we held this follow-up and was provided with valuable feedback.

We are now preparing for the next phase of this work. The proposed model (LINK) is intended to show how students can start at any of our organizations (Adult Ed, Workforce Development Boards, post-secondary institutions, or community-based organizations) in order to access the Regional IT Career Pathway we will develop. The idea is that this regional pathway will serve all students: some students will have a high-level of support needed as they complete basic skills; others will access the pathway with more advanced skills. Some will enter the workforce after attaining IT fundamentals training, and may return later; still others will pursue more advanced training immediately after their initial skills-development. Along the way, we will support students with the wrap-around services available through our region-wide partners. To further develop this concept will demand input from all of our partners in order to reflect the best strategy for meeting the needs of our community.

We have five sessions in April that will last 60-90 minutes and take place via Meet Me Conference. We understand that due to scheduling constraints, a call-in option is necessary. With that in mind, please register for one or more events of your interest:

Building Regional Career Pathways: Basic Skills Assessments
Date/Time: April 18th, 10:00am-11:00am

Building Regional Career Pathways: Soft Skills
Date/Time: April 18th, 1:00PM-2:00PM

Building Regional Career Pathways: Basic IT Skills
Date/Time: April 19th, 10:00am-11:00am

Building Regional Career Pathways: Job Placement & Business Engagement
Date/Time: April 19th 1:00PM-2:00PM

Building Regional Career Pathways: Philanthropy