| Making
workers ready
Related
story:
- In Virginia’s fastest-growing
region, weary commuters want local jobs
by
Marjolijn Bijlefeld
Virginia Business
March 2004
The
Fredericksburg region has several options to buttress
employee skills or help the local work force gain new
skills. Mary Washington College’s James Monroe
Center for Graduate and Professional Studies in Stafford
County offers a regular course listing of professional
development and career enhancement programs. It has
also developed customized work force training programs
in software and management for local employers.
Germanna Community College in Spotsylvania County is
gearing up for the influx of traditional and non-traditional
students over the next few years, says Germanna President
Frank Turnage. The college is completing a 40,000-square-foot
training facility at its Massaponax area campus that
will open this fall. Turnage says the college is “continuously
working with the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, the
Chamber of Commerce and business leaders to see what
their needs are and how we can respond to those in a
timely and efficient manner.”
Last year, Germanna created 50 customized programs for
local employers, including computer training, supervisory
skills and customer service, says Kathleen Habel, dean
of work force and community education. And it creates
certificate programs or courses for interested people.
For example, after hearing from home improvement stores,
the school added an interior and decorative design program.
“We filled the class with 25 people and had 29
on the waiting list,” she says.
“We partner with Germanna Community College to
develop workforce programs for existing businesses in
the region,” says Russell Seymour, vice president
of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance. “Having
this type of partner is vital to our economic development
efforts.” Another major focus for Germanna is
health care training. Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg,
the only hospital in the region, opened a 94-bed wing
in January, bringing the number of inpatient beds up
to 412. With a $500,000 grant from Medicorp, Mary Washington
Hospital’s parent organization, Germanna has been
able to double its nursing program — now graduating
between 60 and 80 people each year. The vast majority
stay to work in Central Virginia, Turnage says.
The college is also partnering with Northern Virginia
Community College to bring that school’s dental
hygiene, respiratory therapy, medical imaging and radiometry
training to students here through a combination of interactive
video and using the NOVA campus.
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