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GMU establishes President’s Innovation Advisory Council
George Mason University President Gregory Washington on Monday announced he has formed an advisory roundtable of nearly 30 regional business executives and community leaders to focus on the university’s innovation initiative. The President’s Innovation Advisory Council will focus on issues such as GMU’s efforts to increase the pipeline of tech workers. George Mason’s innova[...]
Initial jobless claims dropped 21.9% last week, but remain elevated
Initial jobless claims filed last week dropped 21.9% from the previous week, but still remain high compared with pre-pandemic levels, according to figures released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission. During the week ending Feb. 6, 14,203 Virginians filed initial unemployment claims, compared to 18,177 from the week prior. Last week, 65,091 Virginians remained unemployed, […]
Northam requests federal support to vaccinate federal employees
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser jointly issued a request Wednesday for federal support with vaccinating essential federal employees against COVID-19, many of whom live in the greater D.C. area. Northam, Hogan and Bowser sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Department of Health and […]
Virginia House advances paid leave bill for essential workers
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill on Thursday which would provide paid leave to essential workers. House Bill 2137, introduced by Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Woodbridge, would require essential businesses to offer paid leave to their workers, according to the bill. Employees must be offered a minimum of one paid hour […]
Why the Richmond Fed has zero Black Ph.D. economists
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is one of only five Fed banks that employs zero Black Ph.D. economists, according to a New York Times report this week. Of the 12 Federal Reserve banks, seven employ only one or two Black Ph.D. economists, which Fed officials blame on lack of Black talent in the economics […]
Va. House kills bill requiring hazard pay for essential employees
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers unanimously shot down legislation this week that would have required employers to provide hazard pay to essential employees and provide protective equipment in the event of a stay-at-home order. Del. Hala S. Ayala, D-Woodbridge, said she introduced House Bill 2015 to help protect and further compensate employees required to work during […]
5 ways Va. can put people back to work and transform higher education
It’s tempting these days to believe that once COVID-19 is contained, the U.S. economy will bounce back quickly, replenishing jobs and incomes lost in the pandemic. Yet there are early warning signs that when the labor market fully reopens, some high-demand jobs may be hard to fill even with millions of Americans looking for work. […]
Three Hampton Roads community colleges announce job training collaboration
The new Community College Workforce Cooperative (CCWC), a collaboration among three Hampton Roads community colleges, will create a single point of contact for accessing workforce training resources, Virginia Community Colleges (VCCS) Chancellor Glenn DuBois announced Monday. Paul D. Camp, Thomas Nelson and Tidewater community colleges will work together to meet large-scale job training needs fo[...]
Virginia Values Veterans program hits 67K hires
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program surpassed its goal to reach 65,000 Virginia military veteran hires by the end of his administration. As of Friday, more than 67,000 Virginia military veterans have been hired through the program since its 2012 inception. Administered by the Department of Veterans Services (DVS), […]
Northam introduces $30M workforce training program
For those whose employment has been impacted by the pandemic, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that he is directing $30 million in federal CARES Act funding to workforce training programs in high-demand fields. The Re-Employing Virginians (REV) initiative will provide scholarships for people to enroll in a workforce or community college program in the health […]
Va. Chamber Foundation, SCHEV launch work-based learning program
The Virginia Chamber Foundation and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) on Tuesday launched the Virginia Talent and Opportunity Partnership (Virginia TOP), an initiative aimed at better connecting students, higher education institutions and employers through paid and credit-bearing internships and other work-based learning opportunities. “Access to a talented, well-educate[...]
Va. saw jobs recovery drop in September
After recovering a total of 68,000 jobs in August, Virginia saw its labor force fall by 71,954, or 1.7%, in September, according to employment statistics released Tuesday by the Virginia Employment Commission. Between September 2019 and September 2020, the VEC estimates that Virginia has lost 207,100 jobs a 5.1% decrease. The commonwealth also saw a […]
