By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.
Broadcast version by Edwin J. Viera for Virginia News Connection reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration

It's not uncommon for state and local governments to focus on economic development. Attracting businesses and developing industries can provide infrastructure, housing, schools, and more. But the approach and partnership at Hampton Roads Workforce Council in Virginia is bridging government with people, embracing "the human side of economic development."

"We're just the flipside of the coin. We're focused on the talent," says Shawn Avery, president and chief executive officer of the Workforce Council.

"So, when we work with government, we're really working with our economic development departments and our local elected officials to make sure that we're filling the talent needs of the region."

The Workforce Council includes 15 cities and counties in southeast Virginia, an area known for shipbuilding. When a business is new or expanding, the Workforce Council works with government and educators to address training needs.

Their involvement can start as early as K-12, with career exploration and internships. Working with community colleges, they develop certifications and training programs for skilled jobs. At four-year institutions, there's a focus on engineering, manufacturing, management, and finance paths.

"We want make sure that there's no wrong door when it comes to working with our educational institutions," says Avery.

Here's what it can look like bringing together their government stakeholders, businesses, and educators:

• Newport News Shipbuilding - career exploration activities at career and technical education centers for K-12, and a program for welding certifications

• New Horizons Regional Education Center - securing funding from the U.S. Navy to expand its welding program

• Community colleges - increasing the capacity for skilled trades programs including electrician, pipefitting, and ship fitting.

'The strength behind the fleet'


Virginia Ship Repair Association (VSRA) has a similar experience with the Workforce Council helping them service their 319 members. The VSRA is a link between the U.S. Navy and the shipbuilding and repair industry, what association president Bill Crow calls "the strength behind the fleet."


From identifying funding, to developing training to address members' needs and finding the education partner to do it, VSRA estimates the Workforce Council has helped train 3,000 students since 2017.


"We only have three corporate-type companies, but the rest of the companies are small businesses or non-corporate that don't sit on a lot of cash. Trying to develop a workforce for them becomes extremely expensive, so that's a big help," says Crow.


VSRA works with middle schools to expose students to careers early through a digital ship-type competition, and bringing in industry guests to high school technical centers. Through the Workforce Council, VSRA's members can benefit from a cooperative between five local colleges.


Training is often at no cost to the employee or potential hire, who can be college age, high school graduates, military veterans, and people who want to change professions.


Some companies hire employees on contingency and have them go through the training programs. Other trainees are already working and need to upskill. Sessions typically last two-to-five weeks at a time. Companies will allow employees to be out of the shop for the required length of time and return to the job with the added skills.


The offerings include curriculum across six disciplines related to shipbuilding and repair. Three levels of marine trade training and welding enable employers to offer career paths which didn't exist six years ago.


Crow says they're seeking metrics to determine their programs' effectiveness. So far, VSRA is tracking students after they leave training and finding 90% are still on the job after two years.


"The success of the program is not training people who get into the industry for the short term," Crow says.


The Workforce Council continues to evolve with curriculum, investments, and partnerships. Two hundred wind turbines are expected to be installed along the Hampton Roads coast. The increasing demand from offshore wind employers happens to match the same type of skill sets as those for shipbuilding.


"The Hampton Roads region really wants to be an East Coast hub for the offshore wind industry. And so, we want to make sure that we're growing our capacity in the skilled trades, not just piecemealing in and barely meeting the needs," Avery says.


"We want to have an abundance of those skills in our region. You throw in the infrastructure that are coming, the bridges and the tunnels that we have in our area, that's also going to be a drain on the system. We need to make sure that we're overproducing what we need in those skilled trades."



Victoria Lim wrote this article for WorkingNation.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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Teachers in Louisiana are trying to stop an upcoming constitutional convention proposed by Gov. Jeff Landry. The governor, who has been in office for three months, is demanding that state legislators and 27 of his appointees convene from May 20 through June 3 to rewrite the state's constitution.

Baton Rouge first-grade teacher Jaret Guidry is concerned by the governor's lack of specifics.

"I have been emailing all of my representatives and Congress men and women," Guidry said, "saying, 'This is too rushed, this is not a good idea, something's going to get missed, something's going to be done wrong.' You cannot effectively go through this document in a matter of weeks."

K-through-12 school funding, retirement security for teachers, school bus drivers and other public employees who don't pay into the Social Security system are protected in the current state constitution. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers has posted petitions opposing the convention on its website.

The Louisiana Constitution was last amended in 1973. The convention then lasted 12 months under then-Gov. Edwin Edwards.

If the new convention occurs now, said Ascension Parish history teacher Jacob Newsom, lawmakers could make decisions that change the lives of everyone in Louisiana.

"We've got a lot to be concerned about," Newsom said. "Number one, Jeff Landry - based on his own proclamations and actions - does not appear to be a friend of public education and if given the chance, I would assume he was going to remove the protections that we got placed in the constitution for public-education funding and Medicaid funding, and all these other programs."

Landry's office has said the convention would only focus on rewriting the articles that govern taxes and spending.


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The first week of May is designated as Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States.

The push to honor teachers started in 1953 when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded Congress that there needed to be a specific day to recognize educators for their hard work. Students and parents often give teachers small gifts this week, and many retailers are offering special deals and discounts to educators.

Jennifer Easley, president of the Texas PTA, said the best way to honor teachers is to stand up for their rights.

"I think the biggest thing we can do to show them appreciation is to be advocating for them year-round - not only for public school funding, so that teachers and staff can get the compensation that they deserve, but also to make sure that they're getting the two-way respectful communication they are craving and deserve," she said.

Easley added improving working conditions for teachers will also encourage more young people to enter the profession and keep more seasoned educators in the classroom.

The Texas PTA was formed in 1970 when the "Texas Congress of Mothers" and the "Texas Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers" combined efforts to improve the state's education system. It's the second-largest state PTA in the nation, with more than 2,000 chapters across the state. Easley said throughout the years, the organization's mission has remained the same: to improve the lives of teachers, students and families.

"And they are able to facilitate conversations on their campuses with their parents. And as far as engagement goes, I mean, our PTAs are there to try to provide opportunities to bring parents to the table, " she explained.

Easley added a person does not have to be a parent or have a child enrolled in school to join a local PTA chapter. Membership is open to anyone who cares about young people and their futures.


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The shortage of educators and school staffers has reached a crisis level in some Pennsylvania public schools, prompting a new "Educators Rising" program, which aims to recruit future educators from local high schools.

Ten schools are already participating, with students attending the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center to develop teaching skills.

Donna Rain-O'Dell, workforce education coordinator at the center, said in the "Grow Your Own" program at Mount Pleasant High School, the students gain hands-on experience by observing and assisting teachers in classrooms a couple of days a week.

"We actually have some of our students going into classrooms that are teaching small group or mini-lessons," Rain-O'Dell explained. "Like, one student is teaching Spanish I, when she's a Spanish III student; and then we have a student, that's in AP Bio that's helping with the biology class. So it's kind of cool, and it's definitely a unique situation."

She pointed out next year, they will start their first "college in high school" course at the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg campus. Keystone State schools are struggling to fill more than 5,500 vacant teaching positions.

Rena Enterline, vocational rehabilitation counselor for the center, said they partner with The Learning Lamp and Shippensburg University and students can earn nine credits toward higher education.

"That is more of a dual-enrollment type class," Enterline noted. "They will take classes through Shippensburg University, and they'll actually get a transcript through them. And then, they can take those credits and use them at any university that will accept them when they decide to go to college."

Enterline added current seniors will not have been in the program for two years but can still use the credits they earn this year through the dual enrollment opportunity.

Amanda Funk, CTE instructor at McCaskey High School in Lancaster, said hers is the only Lancaster County high school to have an in-house career and technology program. It attracts a diverse group of students who help out in elementary schools as juniors and seniors, eventually extending to middle schools.

"The goal is to bring them back and they get a guaranteed interview after college in our district and then they'll have that added support," Funk stressed. "Part of our job description is to actually mentor them through their college years. And then once they come back and get a job in our district, to mentor them there as well."

Funk added one lesson in the Educators Rising curriculum focuses on anti-bias instruction. She observed students have personally thanked her for classroom discussions on the topic.


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