Fredericksburg Regional Alliance
Center for Workforce and Community Education Sustaining a Smart Workforce in Virginia's Fastest-Growing Region

Located midway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, the Fredericksburg region is a business-friendly community and one of the fastest-growing places in the state. It boasts a highly educated work force, with one of the highest concentrations of PhDs in the nation.

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That skilled labor pool is a key reason for the Fredericksburg area's economic success. Now, the local commitment to providing a first-class work force has taken shape at the new two-story, 40,000-square-foot Center for Workforce and Community Education at the Fredericksburg Area Campus of Germanna Community College. The center - which opened in October 2004 - offers two fully networked computer training labs, two corporate training rooms with seating for up to 60 people, a Tandberg video conferencing system, a 90-seat auditorium and a 24-seat executive conference room.

The workforce center is a cornerstone of the region's efforts to support existing businesses and attract new ones. It offers credit and noncredit courses, says Martha O'Keefe, coordinator of workforce development. The center has been a boon to local businesses and employees who want to sharpen or expand their skills. "We do a lot of computer applications training, as well as our high-tech certification preparation programs," O'Keefe says. "There was a higher demand, and we were able to meet that demand."

The workforce center offers non-credit courses in 25 disciplines, including A+ certification, Network+ certification, Cisco CCNA, Cisco CCNP, and Cisco network security. In the field of construction management, there are courses in AutoCAD, blueprint reading and construction cost estimating.
The non-credit courses are scheduled to accommodate working students, with classes offered on evenings and weekends. "Most of them are between 50 and 70 hours of instruction, and include a lot of hands-on training," O'Keefe says.

Along with the Fredericksburg campus, the workforce center also offers courses at its Locust Grove Campus, located 20 miles west in Orange County. The Fredericksburg campus draws students from the city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Stafford and Spotsylvania. The Locust Grove campus serves students from the counties of Culpeper, Orange and Madison. Between both campuses nearly 3,000 noncredit students were enrolled last year, O'Keefe says.

Among the students, a majority "are already in the workforce and are upgrading their skills," O'Keefe says. "But we do get a good number who are changing careers. We are seeing more students in their early 20s coming in to obtain a credential to help them find employment."

The center will also offer certification testing through Pearson VUE. For the business professional, there are courses in areas such as supervision, event planning, customer service, human resources and public speaking.
Germanna uses formal and informal assessment methods to help businesses and agencies identify and evaluate their business training needs. It works with employers and their staff to determine the skills that employees need, the best methods to achieve the needed skill, and alternative methods for reaching their goals.

Among the training developed to help area businesses are:
• Work Keys
• Workforce Readiness
• Customer Service Institute
• Management and Supervisory Skills
• Command Spanish

The Germanna center can also help new or expanding companies develop pre-employment training programs that assess abilities, vocational interests and aptitudes of prospective employees. The school works with the Workforce Services Division for Virginia's Department of Business Assistance and the Virginia Employment Commission.

Kent Farmer, president and CEO of the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, says Germanna offers his company a workforce training program that it couldn't do on its own. "It's almost a customized program," he says. "It takes the basic business management theory they'd normally be teaching, and they work with us to develop a supervisory management course that is specific to our business and to our industry."

Farmer's says about 30 of the cooperative's employees have gone through supervisory management training as well as taking other courses. "These are folks who are our potential supervisors in the future," he says. "It's a pretty extensive program and we've seen a large amount of success with it."

The center is also a catalyst for the development of workforce-related credit initiatives. Working with the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, center staff responded to the needs of local companies by developing a credit career studies certificate in Engineering Technology. This certificate has now been in place for one year with approximately 15 students participating. Dr. Kathleen Habel, Germanna's dean of workforce development, is working with business leaders to explore the possibility of offering additional credit certificates in bank management, maintenance technology, and surveying. She is also working with the Library of Congress, soon to be located in Culpeper, to develop credit and noncredit training modules for library and processing technicians.

Center staff is also exploring the possibility of partnering with Virginia Piedmont and Lord Fairfax Community College to offering training in viticulture and enology, recognizing that the wine industry is quickly expanding in Virginia. One of the goals of the Center is to support economic development in the region by listening to the needs of business and industry and trying to respond in a timely manner.

Russell Seymour, vice president for the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, credits the workforce center for responding to the needs of local companies. "As an economic developer, I have come to rely on Germanna's assistance any time a work force issue arises," says Seymour. "Whether it's providing specific training for a single company, or creating a new program for an entire market, Germanna Community College is there. The Fredericksburg region is fortunate to have such a strong ally."

O'Keefe says the center has found another niche since its opening , helping local businesses and community groups that want to use the facilities for special events. The center's staff assists with everything from catering to AV equipment.

The workforce center is just off Interstate 95 and is centrally located in the region, which includes the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George and the city of Fredericksburg. It is adjacent to the campus' main academic building, which houses more than 150 classes as well as a library, tutoring and testing centers, a book store and administrative offices.

Germanna Community College, one of 23 community colleges in Virginia. is led by Dr. Frank S. Turnage. Founded in 1970, the school has two campuses - the Fredericksburg location and its original campus in Locust Grove in Orange County.

Germanna is just one part of the region's strong and diverse education network. The University of Mary Washington, ranked one of the nation's most selective schools, last year opened the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Rappahannock Community College's Center for Business and Workforce Development serves the area with customized training for businesses and industry.