Germanna Center for Workforce CEO training boosts startups

Startup CEO training cited as example of GCC responding to region’s workforce needs

During a roundtable discussion about college affordability at Germanna Community College this week, Sen. Tim Kaine praised the way Virginia’s Community Colleges in general—and GCC in particular—tailor workforce training to meet needs in their service regions.

Sen. Tim Kaine watches an unmanned aerial vehicle built by Germanna engineering students take off during a visit to the college this week. The UAV design won a recent Philadelphia competition for the GCC student team, besting Drexel, Yale and more than a dozen other universities.

“I just stuck my head in a CEO seminar down the hall,” he said.  ”It’s for local CEOs—mostly from startup technology companies. They get together with a  teacher-facilitator to share best practices and become more productive.”

The CEO offering is part of SkillUpVA, a Germanna Center for Workforce and Community Education program that provides individuals with the skills to make the most of career opportunities in an economic environment shaped by rapid technological change and increasing global competition.

He noted that each community college works to address business climate needs unique to its region.

“Community colleges do a great job not only in educating individual students, but also in thinking about what the workforce trends are here and then taking an approach that meets the region’s needs. That flexibility is really important.”