GO Virginia Leadership Commends Governor Youngkin on Talent Pathways Investments
December 15, 2022
Richmond, VA – Leaders of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board today expressed their appreciation to Governor Youngkin for his addition of over $35 million in funding for talent pathways and other workforce development programs to be part of the GO Virginia program. This funding will build upon planning funds for these initiatives approved in the 2022 General Assembly session or other project awards made by GO Virginia since its inception in 2017 to implement pilot programs in the skills development and talent pipeline area.
“Governor Youngkin’s proposed budget amendments build upon the bipartisan support in the previous session to have each of GO Virginia’s regions take a hard look at their workforce challenges and to develop a strategy to enhance the pipeline of talent in key industry clusters,” noted Nancy Howell Agee, Chair of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board. “The additional money proposed by Governor Youngkin will take this talent pathways effort to the next level by allowing our regions to make the investments needed to retain and grow the workforce of the future.”
“Thanks to an initial investment by GO Virginia, work to grow the maritime cluster in Hampton Roads and spread its impact to other regions in Virginia, is already underway,” noted Dubby Wynne, a founding member of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board and past Board chair. “Governor Youngkin’s innovative leadership regarding talent pathways will provide a much needed focus around priority industry clusters allow us to implement the results of the talent development work already underway in the GO Virginia regions.”
“We are already seeing around Virginia the results of investments made by GO Virginia to better prepare our future workforce and how these efforts, like GO-TEC, are attracting new jobs and investment in the state,” said Ben Davenport, a founding member of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board. “These additional funds proposed by Governor Youngkin will allow us to build on the momentum achieved by these existing and new programs to build the talent pipeline in the Commonwealth.”
“Governor Youngkin’s budget amendments for talent pathways will allow GO Virginia to explore additional partnerships to develop talent in the industries which will shape Virginia’s future economy,” added Heywood Fralin, a founding member of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board. “These partnerships will bring together businesses with our training providers to align their interests and leverage additional private and federal funds to reverse recent trends of talented people leaving our state.”
“Many people have long recognized the importance of streamlining our workforce development programs and then advancing talent pathways efforts so that students across Virginia have multiple opportunities to success in the new Virginia economy,” added Jim Dyke, a founding member of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board and former Secretary of Education. “The additional funds in Governor Youngkin’s proposed budget for talent pathways, internships, dual enrollment, and career services will facilitate deeper partnerships among business, K-12, community colleges, and universities and make them all more effective in moving young people efficiently from learning to earning in Virginia.”
“Investing in talent is key to getting Virginia’s economy back to where we were pre-COVID and to strengthening Virginia’s economic competitiveness,” said Todd Stottlemyer, a founding member and Vice Chair of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board. “Governor Youngkin’s proposals on talent pathways, internships, and industry-recognized credentials will help create the pipeline of workers that employers look for before they make decisions to grow in the state.”
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