Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing names director of workforce development

Bruce Sobczak  has been named director of workforce development at the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) in Prince George County.

CCAM is a collaborative research center involving industry members and researchers from the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University.

Sobczak will work with CCAM members and regional partners with the goal of establishing an industry-centric, high-performing workforce in  Southern and Southwest Virginia.

He will lead the implementation of the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission’s Workforce Strategy, a plan that was developed based on a recent study conducted by CCAM and the Boston Consultant Group highlighting workforce needs in the tobacco region.

“CCAM is focused on building not only a pipeline of new technologies for the industry, but a new generation of advanced manufacturing workers as well,” Sobczak said in a statement.

Sobczak joins CCAM from South Orange County Community College District in California, where he served as director of economic and workforce development for the Irvine Valley College Advanced Technology and Education Park.

He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Chapman University and currently serves as a member of the Workforce Development Committee for the Orange County Business Council.