ODU maritime training alliance designated federal Center of Excellence
The Hampton Roads Maritime Industries Education Alliance (HRMIEA) has been designated a 2024 Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), Old Dominion University announced Thursday. HRMIEA received the designation, good for five years, on Feb. 16, according to Elspeth McMahon, ODU’s assistant vice president for marit[...]
To support a more inclusive workforce, Va. lawmakers must unite around this bill
Virginia’s worker shortage is one of the commonwealth’s biggest barriers to economic growth and prosperity: According to data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are just 60 available workers for every 100 open jobs statewide. But Virginia’s talent-starved labor market is hardly unique. Nationally, there are seven workers for every 10 available jobs. The mismatch betwee[...]
United Way of SWVA spins off workforce programs
The United Way of Southwest Virginia is spinning off its workforce development programs by establishing a new nonprofit, EO, to oversee them, UWSWVA announced Feb. 20. EO, which stands for Endless Opportunity, is also Latin for “go.” The new nonprofit will manage what has been the UWSWVA’s $10 million portfolio of grant-funded workforce development programs, […]
Making the office cool again
It didn’t take long for Spurrier Group employees to want to be back in the office after the pandemic began. Within the first four weeks of workplace shutdowns in 2020, the women working at the Richmond-based strategy and media-buying firm started asking CEO Donna Spurrier when they could return to the company’s comfortably fashionable office, […]
Best Places to Work 2024
This is the 14th year that Virginia Business has compiled the Best Places to Work in Virginia list in collaboration with Pennsylvania-based Best Companies Group. More than 200 companies applied for inclusion in the 2024 Best Places to Work in Virginia cohort. A hundred companies were chosen, divided into three categories: small (15-99 U.S. employees); […]
Left behind?
In June 2022, Booz Allen Hamilton was without a chief diversity officer. The McLean-based Fortune 500 management consulting contractor’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Jon G. Muñoz, stepped down after a year in the role. A year and a half later, Booz Allen hasn’t hired anyone new for the position — but that’s by […]
Va. Tech receives two $1M endowment commitments
The Public Service Education Institute has endowed two $1 million funds at Virginia Tech to support internships, the university announced Tuesday. The endowments, each created with a $1 million commitment, will support students who have secured internships with federal, state or local government agencies, including the Virginia Cooperative Extension. One endowment will support students in [&hellip[...]
16 Va. companies receive LGBTQ inclusivity awards
Sixteen Virginia companies received the top score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, released in November. Nationally, more than 1,384 companies, including 378 Fortune 500 companies, participated in the organization’s 21st Corporate Equality Index (CEI) survey. Companies that do not participate in the survey but are listed in the CEI are [&hel[...]
JPMorgan Chase gives $5.3M to DMV career pathways program
JPMorgan Chase has donated $5.3 million to TalentReady, a student career pathways program in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., the bank announced Thursday. The program, which is organized by the Greater Washington Partnership and Education Strategy Group, has a focus on ensuring students get work-based learning experiences, such as capstone projects and internships. TalentReady has [&hellip[...]
Communities must rally to solve housing issues, Barkin says
Homeownership is becoming increasingly unattainable for too many workers, and communities are going to need to make innovative decisions to create more affordable housing if they want to attract talent, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin said Wednesday during the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference in Hampton. Barkin said the nation’s housing crunch [&hel[...]
Here to stay
Rachel Miller spent half of her undergraduate studies and then a portion of graduate school learning remotely behind a computer screen. Even the first job she took that aligned with her career goals — completing contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic while she worked toward her master’s degree in public health — was a remote […]
The Mailroom October 2023
Don’t say ‘Don’t Say Gay?’ I am disappointed in your June 2023 workforce article, “Pride in their work.” In it, you perpetuate misinformation that the left-leaning press has been pushing on Americans. Two specific examples: Reference to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” law — This bill does not use the word “gay” in it, and […]