VCC Magazine Fall 2019

V irginia C apitol C onnections , F all 2019 21 “Amazon had it right” By Barry Duval The CNBC headline read, “Amazon had it right: Virginia is America’s Top State for Business in 2019.” The Commonwealth has always been viewed as a business-friendly state. However, our recent recognition has been a team effort with theVirginia Chamber of Commerce working collaboratively with the business community, public officials, public policy makers, and the economic development community. As we began to develop Blueprint Virginia 2025, a comprehensive economic development plan for the Commonwealth, our number one goal was to make the Commonwealth the best state for business. In order to achieve that goal, we focused on nine key policy areas—workforce and education, business climate, transportation, health care, energy, innovation, manufacturing, environment, and military and veterans affairs. We knew if we invested in each of these areas, every region would grow, and Virginia would be recognized as the best state for business. Blueprint Virginia 2025 has guided policy leaders not to look at short-term goals, but instead to take a long-term view of investment in these areas. While Virginia’s major victory landing Amazon HQ2 was certainly a component of CNBC’s decision, the Commonwealth was named America’s Top State for Business due to its pro-business environment, top-tier education system, and long-term, strategic investments in Twenty First Century workforce solutions. Among the 10 categories factored into the CNBC ranking, Virginia came in at Number 1 for both Workforce and Education, and Number 3 for Business Friendliness. The Commonwealth’s workforce of nearly 4.4 million successfully supports our substantial industrial base, and represents one of the most productive and educated demographics in the U.S. Thirty-eight percent of Virginia’s population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 60 percent stays in the state after graduation, compared to the national average of 53 percent. Ensuring that Virginia can offer the labor pool to meet companies’ needs in every region of the Commonwealth is a top priority. Virginia maintains a robust workforce development system and is poised to push new boundaries in the development of Twenty First Century talent through its innovative workforce solutions. Virginia’s renowned higher education system is the Tenth largest in the nation and includes 23 community colleges with 40 campuses around the Commonwealth. There is a community college within 30 miles of every Virginian, providing businesses direct and sustained access to highly trained talent. According to a new analysis by Money Magazine , only California has more colleges than Virginia that are listed among the top 50 Best Colleges in America (ranked by value). Virginia’s top 50-ranked institutions include UVA, Washington & Lee, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, and VMI. Our esteemed public and private higher education institutions continue to represent some of the Commonwealth’s top economic assets. CNBC’s external recognition of Virginia’s business-friendly climate is gratifying, as the Commonwealth’s pro-business environment is critical to its value proposition. Virginia boasts the second-lowest average commercial electric rate in the United States, and building costs that are seven to 19 percent below the national average, depending on the region. Virginia also maintains a six percent corporate income tax—one of the lowest in the nation—that hasn’t increased since 1972. In the 13-year history of the CNBC ranking, only two states have been selected as the top state more than once—Virginia and Texas, each named Number 1 four times. We celebrate this return Why invest in CTE? By Brenda Long During this election year, candidates provided their list of priorities to address in the upcoming General Assembly if elected. Most candidates listed as priorities education, and specifically, Career and Technical Education. Virginia Association for Career and Technical Education ran a campaign this year to support Career and Technical Education and Invest in CTE. How do we advocate with new—and veteran—policymakers and explain the need to Invest in CTE and demonstrate the impact Career and Technical Education has on student’s career choices regardless of when the student decides to enter the workforce? • Let’s start with numbers. Employment projections state that 500,000 new jobs will be created inVirginia by 2024. As employers seek to fill these jobs, they rely on industry-recognized credentials as evidence of workers’ knowledge, skills, and abilities. • During the 2017-2018 school year, 160,248 credentials were earned by Virginia’s high school students, an increase of 2,758 from 2016- 2017. The Profile of a Virginia Graduate initiative increases the opportunity for all students to earn a credential beginning with the ninth-grade class of 2018-2019. With demand for technical skills growing, nearly 60 percent of companies report having difficulty filling jobs openings because of a lack of qualified applicants and this cost the companies each year in lost of productivity. Our CTE programs are preparing learners for promising careers and giving employers and our economy a competitive edge. Students have opportunities during K-8 for career awareness, exploration and develop an Academic and Career which is their focus on a career pathway as they begin their high school career. This career pathway could lead to a four-year degree, two-year associate degree, one-year certificate program, or directly to the workforce after high school. The critical component is Career and Technical Education programs provide the opportunities for students to gain academic knowledge and technical skills that will increase their success and be career ready when they enter the workforce. • Let’s talk about work-based learning. CTE programs provide unique opportunities for learners to engage with employers and participate in numerous work-based learning opportunities. Work- based learning refers to a sequence of on-the-job experiences undertaken in partnership with local companies or organizations. It is coordinated by local schools and school divisions, in line with the Profile of a Virginia Graduate (8VAC20-131-70). • Students who participate in work-based learning experiences often continue to work for these companies after graduation and continue their postsecondary education. Employers also increasingly seek new hires who have work-based learning experiences. • Virginia recognizes 11 work-based learning methods of instruction: job shadowing, mentorship, service learning, externship, school- based enterprise, internship, entrepreneurship, clinical experience, cooperative education, youth registered apprenticeship, and registered apprenticeship. The growing emphasis on work-based learning requires schools to increase opportunities for their students. Students involved in CTE are far less likely to drop out of high school. The high school graduation rate for students with a concentration of CTE courses in Virginia is 97 percent, about 13 percentage points higher than the national average and 11 percentage points higher than theVirginia average. Over the past five consecutive years, 95 percent or more CTE completers graduated high school with a Standard or Advanced Studies Diploma. CTE career clusters provide opportunities for ALL to be better prepared for their careers. See Why invest in CTE? , continued on page 22 See “Amazon had it right” , continued on page 23