Start your Symposium experience at the Registration Table, where you can check in, pick up your name badge and materials, and receive important event information. Our team will be available to answer questions, provide directions to breakout sessions, and help ensure you have everything you need for a smooth and engaging two days.

Kick off the 2026 Virginia Workforce Symposium with an energizing welcome as we gather workforce leaders, practitioners, partners, and employers from across the Commonwealth. This opening session will set the tone for the event, provide an overview of the agenda and key themes for the day, and highlight how our collective work strengthens Virginia’s talent pipeline and economic future.

Attendees will hear remarks from the Virginia Workforce Association, along with important announcements, housekeeping details, and guidance to help you make the most of your Symposium experience. Whether you are joining us for networking, learning, or sharing best practices, this session ensures everyone starts aligned, informed, and ready for two impactful days together.

We are honored to welcome Jessica K. Looman, the newly appointed Secretary of Labor for the Commonwealth of Virginia, as our 2026 Symposium keynote speaker. A seasoned attorney and public servant, Secretary Looman brings decades of leadership experience in labor policy, workforce development, and worker protection at the federal and state levels.

In her current role under Governor Abigail Spanberger, Secretary Looman leads statewide efforts to connect Virginians to skills, training, and opportunity, while advising on labor-related matters that strengthen the Commonwealth’s economy and workforce system. Her commitment to expanding economic security, strategic partnerships, and career pathways makes her a compelling voice for this year’s theme of workforce innovation and collaboration.

We look forward to Secretary Looman’s insights as she shares her vision for empowering Virginia’s workers and advancing equitable opportunity across the Commonwealth.

Building effective industry sector partnerships requires more than simply bringing employers to the table—it requires strategy, trust, and sustained engagement. The Anne Arundel County Local Workforce Development Board has emerged as a leader in demand-driven sector work by creating an Industry Collaborative model that puts businesses at the center of workforce solutions.

This session will walk through how we build and sustain industry collaboratives from the ground up. We begin small, often with a no-commitment roundtable designed to spark conversation and surface shared workforce challenges. From there, we identify and empower a “champion”—an industry leader who is deeply invested and willing to engage peers. This champion becomes a powerful driver of business-to-business engagement, helping expand participation and credibility.

Participants will learn how we structure collaboratives, maintain employer engagement, and move from dialogue to action. We will also highlight the range of projects that collaboratives can undertake beyond just training and discuss how these initiatives are funded and sustained.

Effective talent pipeline development requires strategic partnerships and intentional programming that connects young people to meaningful career opportunities. Communities that successfully build and sustain these pipelines recognize that workforce development begins long before graduation, requiring collaboration among K-12 schools, workforce boards, employers, and community colleges.
Youth workforce innovations center on early career exposure models that introduce students to diverse career paths through work-based learning experiences. Internships, job shadowing, and paid training opportunities provide invaluable hands-on experience while helping students understand workplace expectations and professional norms. These experiences transform abstract career concepts into tangible possibilities, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds who may lack professional networks.
Career and technical education (CTE) programs play a pivotal role when aligned with regional market demand. By partnering with local employers, CTE programs ensure their curricula reflect current industry needs and emerging technologies. This alignment creates direct pathways from classroom learning to in-demand careers, making education immediately relevant and economically valuable.
College and career readiness strategies must address diverse student populations through culturally responsive approaches and differentiated support systems. Successful transitions from secondary education to postsecondary training, apprenticeships, or employment require comprehensive guidance services, financial literacy education, and clear articulation agreements between educational institutions.
Sustaining robust talent pipelines demands ongoing assessment and adaptation. Communities must regularly evaluate labor market trends, gather employer feedback, and adjust programming accordingly. When workforce boards, educators, and employers work collaboratively with shared metrics and accountability, they create resilient ecosystems that prepare students for meaningful careers while meeting regional economic needs.

Stafford County Public Schools has developed a comprehensive approach to strengthening Career and Technical Education by building specialty centers grounded in strategic partnerships and data-driven decision-making. This session will showcase collaboration with local and regional employers, the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, our Germanna Community College, the Stafford Regional Airport Authority, the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, and educators to create meaningful pathways that prepare students for employment, enlistment, or enrollment.

Participants will learn how we leveraged multiple data sources—including regional and local job market trends, employer feedback, and student interests—to inform programming decisions. Presenters will share Stafford’s ongoing audit process for evaluating all CTE coursework to ensure alignment with current workforce needs and student demand, and discuss how this work positions us to meet Virginia's new 3E framework requirements.

Attendees will leave with a practical roadmap for auditing their own CTE offerings and building the cross-sector partnerships necessary to create specialty centers and career pathways that truly serve students and their communities. Whether you are just beginning to explore CTE transformation or looking to strengthen existing programs, this session offers actionable strategies for aligning education with workforce development.

The Radford University – Virginia Farm Bureau Experiential Learning Partnership is a scalable, employer-led workforce model that integrates academic credit, industry credentialing, and direct hiring pathways within a single semester. Launching Spring 2026, the program combines a corporate externship at Virginia Farm Bureau’s Richmond headquarters, preparation for the Virginia Property & Casualty Insurance Licensure (with all training and exam costs covered by the employer), and guaranteed interviews for paid internships and full-time positions across the Commonwealth.

Designed as a credit-bearing internship, practicum, or special topics course, the initiative aligns curriculum with real-time workforce demand in sales, insurance, entrepreneurship, and business development. Students gain exposure to company operations, complete an industry-recognized credential, and enter a structured hiring pipeline—all within eight weeks.

This partnership advances statewide priorities around work-based learning, credential attainment, and in-state talent retention. With a strong alumni footprint already at Virginia Farm Bureau, the model formalizes and expands an existing pipeline while reducing financial barriers to participation through employer-sponsored certification and transportation support.

The program is replicable across industries and colleges, serving as a proof-of-concept for scalable employer-integrated education that produces measurable workforce outcomes.

Learning Objectives

Industry Competency: Demonstrate foundational knowledge required to pass the Virginia Property & Casualty Licensure exam.

Workplace Application: Apply sales, communication, and business development principles in a real corporate environment.

Career Readiness: Develop professional interview, networking, and career-navigation skills aligned with high-demand Virginia occupations.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) make up the backbone of Virginia’s economy, yet they face persistent challenges in recruiting, developing, and retaining talent. Despite representing the vast majority of employers in most regions, SMBs often encounter the highest barriers to participating in internship programs. This session provides a practical, replicable model for helping SMBs engage meaningfully in work-based learning through the InternshipsVA framework.  

Participants will explore the business case for SMB internship engagement, grounded in real employer examples that demonstrate how structured internship pathways lower recruitment costs, reduce turnover risk, and strengthen talent pipelines. The session also highlights how InternshipsVA removes friction for employers through matching grants, turnkey toolkits and guides, and accessible one-on-one staff support.  

A hands-on interactive lab will allow attendees to apply lessons immediately. Workforce and higher education practitioners will use guided templates to either (A) build a business case for an SMB or (B) develop an SMB outreach and messaging strategy for their region. Each group will leave with a practical, ready to use action plan.  

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

- Explain the value proposition of internships for small and midsize businesses. 

- Apply the InternshipsVA framework to support SMB engagement. 

- Develop a customized, actionable plan to engage SMBs in their region. 

Key Takeaways:  

- A replicable framework for engaging SMBs in internships  

- Tools to build an employer’s internal business case  

- Strategies for reducing administrative and participation barriers  

- Templates for outreach, messaging, and employer consultation  

This session will examine how Talent Up Fairfax served as a model for aligning workforce development with economic and community development priorities. At a time when regions faced persistent talent shortages and equity gaps, the initiative demonstrated how strategic workforce investments supported business growth while expanding economic mobility for residents. This model can be replicated in workforce regions throughout the Commonwealth.

Talent Up Fairfax is a work-based learning initiative launched by the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives and administered by The SkillSource Group, Inc. to address workforce gaps in healthcare, information technology, finance, sales, and administration. Funded by a $2.45 million American Rescue Plan Act grant, the program connected unemployed and underemployed residents to paid internships, personalized coaching, and employer pathways to permanent employment. Since July 2023, the program attracted over 1,200 applicants, enrolled 387 participants, and placed 179 interns across more than 60 companies.

An independent ROI analysis found that the program supported 118 annual full-time equivalent jobs directly and 123 total jobs when secondary effects were included. Participant employment generated $7.2 million in regional labor income and $5.1 million in economic output through household spending. With nearly $2.1 million in costs and $7.2 million in benefits, the program achieved a 3.5 benefit-to-cost ratio.

Talent Up Fairfax promoted inclusive growth by reducing employment barriers and connecting diverse residents to career pathways. Partnerships with employers, chambers, and community organizations expanded access and strengthened trust. Participants gained replicable strategies for designing demand-driven workforce programs, building cross-sector partnerships, and measuring ROI to demonstrate economic and community impact. 

In February 2026, the Talent Up Fairfax program was recognized as Virginia’s featured innovation in 50 States, 50 Breakthroughs. This new national showcase, a collaboration between Apolitical, the National Academy of Public Administration, and Human of Public Service, highlights one transformative public service project from every U.S. state, celebrating initiatives that drive economic growth and modernize government service. More information is online at https://apolitical.co/events/feb-2026-50-states-50-breakthroughs.

Rural jobseekers in Virginia face a complex mix of structural, economic, and personal barriers that rarely appear in workforce dashboards. In communities where up to one‑third of households lack reliable broadband and transportation options are limited or nonexistent, individuals are navigating challenges long before they enter a classroom, training program, or workforce center. Yet behind every statistic is a lived experience—a young person studying for a credential exam while managing trauma, a returning citizen rebuilding stability without transportation, or a parent choosing between childcare and attending class.
This session blends regional data, real‑world case examples, and frontline experience to illuminate the hidden factors shaping rural labor participation in 2026. Participants will explore how trauma, past educational harm, digital inequity, and credentialing deserts directly influence engagement, retention, and employment outcomes. The session will also highlight practical, scalable solutions, including trauma‑informed workforce practices, micro‑credential pathways, and accessible on‑site testing options that accelerate readiness and reduce barriers for rural Virginians.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to identify at least five under‑recognized barriers affecting rural jobseekers; explain how trauma‑informed approaches improve learning and retention; understand the role of micro‑credentials and testing access in strengthening talent pipelines; and apply practical strategies to enhance employer partnerships in rural regions.

Key takeaways include: recognizing hidden structural and emotional barriers, understanding the impact of digital inequity, implementing low‑cost engagement strategies, leveraging micro‑credentials to accelerate employment, and adopting human‑centered approaches that better support jobseekers with complex needs.

Employers across the U.S. face persistent challenges in training and retaining skilled workers to develop sustainable talent pipelines. This session explores how intentional employer engagement can directly address talent needs and strengthen industry ecosystems through effective Registered Apprenticeship solutions. 
Participants will explore how industry intermediaries can help employers build, expand and sustain apprenticeship programs that meet their talent needs, and establish long-term connections with workforce, education and industry partners. Learn practical strategies for engaging employers and leveraging industry intermediary expertise to launch flexible registered apprenticeship training models, and access technical assistance on program registration, program design, recruitment and long-term support.
Learn how workforce, education, and industry partners can work together on solutions that strengthen talent pipelines, help identify scalable apprenticeship models, and align curricula with the right education partners. Hear how intermediaries help streamline the registration process, reduce administrative burdens, and reduce participation barriers for employers. Through our intermediary approach, MSG has supported dozens of sponsors, from small employers to national associations, in designing, registering, and launching successful apprenticeship programs.
Explore how Registered Apprenticeship can serve as a scalable solution for meeting employer talent needs—whether the goal is filling critical vacancies, improving retention, or creating advancement pathways for incumbent workers. The session examines how sector partnerships and industry-led collaboratives can accelerate apprenticeship program development and offer solutions to current and future workforce demands.
Participants will leave with strategies for effective employer engagement and accessing expertise in designing apprenticeship solutions that offer flexible training models to support long-term talent development.

Roanoke County Economic Development, in partnership with Roanoke County Public Schools, the Greater Roanoke Workforce Development Board, and regional employers, implemented the Industry Insight Tour Series in 2024 to strengthen alignment between classroom instruction and regional workforce demand through structured, employer-hosted site visits. Since its launch, the Industry Insight series has facilitated 13 tours engaging more than 250 educators, students, employers, and workforce partners across high-demand sectors. The Industry Insight Tours were recognized in 2025 with an International Economic Development Council (IEDC) award for workforce innovation in Talent Development and Retention.

Each tour is intentionally designed to engage educators and students together in the same workplace experience. Educators gain direct exposure to credential pathways, technical skills, and employer expectations - equipping them with accurate, localized industry insight that can inform classroom context and advising. Students simultaneously gain firsthand awareness of career pathways, internship opportunities, apprenticeships, and work-based learning connections at a formative decision-making stage.

The program is data-informed and continuously refined through structured surveys and participant feedback, ensuring responsiveness to both employer and school needs.

This session will outline the structure, implementation lessons, and coordination strategies behind the model. Participants will leave with a practical, replicable framework for organizing structured industry engagement experiences that strengthen alignment with schools, employer alignment, and workforce partners to support regional talent pipeline development.

Small rural employers often struggle to participate in traditional workforce programs, not because they lack need, but because training feels disconnected from daily operations and outcomes are hard to measure. This session presents a practical, employer-centered model developed by the Virginia Wine Coalition that links skills training, on-the-job application, and consumer-based feedback into a continuous learning loop.
Participants will explore how targeted Front-of-House (FoH) training equips employees with immediately usable skills, while a structured Secret Shopper program provides real-world assessment of learning through customer experience data. Rather than relying on tests or credentials alone, this approach uses consumer interactions as evidence of competency, offering a scalable assessment framework for small businesses across hospitality, tourism, retail, and service sectors.
The session emphasizes lessons learned from engaging rural employers, building trust around evaluation, and translating customer feedback into workforce insights, demonstrating how training and assessment can be embedded directly into day-to-day work.
The Model: Training → Application → Assessment → Improvement
Application in Real Work Settings
• Employees apply training during live customer interactions
• Learning happens in place, not removed from operations
• Employers see immediate relevance and value
Consumer-Oriented Feedback as Assessment
• Secret Shopper visits function as:
o A non-punitive assessment tool
o A proxy for measuring skill adoption and consistency
• Feedback focuses on observable behaviors tied to training objectives
• Data is aggregated to protect trust and encourage participation
Continuous Improvement Loop
• Insights inform:
o Training refinements
o Employer coaching priorities
o Future workforce investments
• Employers see assessment as supportive, not regulatory
Key Workforce Challenges Addressed:
• Engaging small, rural employers
• Measuring learning without formal testing
• Improving retention through confidence and clarity
• Aligning training with real business outcomes

Preparing students for financial success after high school requires equipping them with clear, unbiased information about education and employment pathways. This session provides educators with practical tools and current labor market insights to guide students through critical career planning decisions.

The session will begin with an economic overview of local labor market trends, examining Virginia's unemployment rate in regional and national context and identifying high-demand career pathways in the area. Participants will gain valuable insights into which occupations are growing and what skills employers are seeking.

The presentation will then focus on two powerful Federal Reserve System tools designed for classroom use: Invest in What's Next and the Occupational Mobility Explorer.

Invest in What's Next is a free online course that guides students through a comprehensive career planning process. Students identify pathways aligned with their interests, learn about lifestyle costs, research careers, and explore schools and funding options. Each student develops an individualized plan that helps teachers meet personal finance curriculum standards and Blueprint for Maryland's Future requirements.

The Occupational Mobility Explorer complements this by helping students visualize career journeys. This tool maps overlapping skill sets between occupations, showing students how they might transition from one job to another over time.

Session Objectives:
Provide an economic update on local labor market trends
Showcase the Richmond Fed's Invest in What's Next tool and other Federal Reserve System resources
Familiarize teachers with the Federal Reserve Education website and demonstrate how to leverage these resources in the classroom

Knowledge, Empowerment, and Community are important for the next generation to learn and understand.

Not everyone is meant for college, but even if you are it is important to understand how workers come together to protect their rights, improve their working conditions, and make sure their voices are heard. We hope our program will play a big role in this, and through this program, we hope to help students and future workers become leaders, advocates, and well-informed members of society. Students will learn topics like labor/civil rights history, laws about jobs and workplaces, public speaking, organizing campaigns, social justice, and negotiation skills. We hope to help them build confidence, leadership, and community—everything they need to make a difference, no matter what career they choose.

Western VA Labor Federation will be doing a labor school for area high school junior and seniors. Our plan is to teach these students labor history, civil rights -how it relates to labor – and Virginia’s role in these. We are also planning on introducing these students to various trade apprenticeship programs. We have commitments from IBEW, UA, Teamsters as well as the Longshoremen with more to come. 

We will have our pilot during Roanoke City’s Spring break March 30 through April 3 at the Villages at Lincoln in Roanoke. During the summer, the plan is to offer the program to the students associated with the Roanoke City Housing Authority during the summer with 5 sessions of 2 weeks each.

See more info at: https://va-aflcio.org/westernva/it-takes-village-labor-school

As AI has revolutionized recruitment, skills-based career assessments have replaced words (interviews) and paper (resumes/degrees) as the gold-standard for recruitment. Employers embrace the efficiency with which AI agents pre-screen, evaluate, and interview candidates. Job-seekers lean into LLM’s that synthesize decades of experience into a precise resume. 

In the midst of AI’s seismic disruption to recruitment, workforce development professionals must ask ourselves: How can we use the most reliable skills-based tools to create value for businesses? 

Session Objectives: 

This breakout session will use an interactive, audience-participation format to summarize research on the emergence of skills-based hiring. The presenters will share 2026 survey results from Virginia hiring managers in Area XIII and Area VI regarding recruitment trends. Finally, the presenters will share a practical model of skills-based hiring that connects businesses with top (and unexpected) talent. Rappahannock Goodwill’s creation of the “CareerPath Accelerator” uses skills tryouts, AI insights, and real-time labor market information to provide job-seekers the inside track to the fastest growing careers in their communities. A scalable solution, the CareerPath Accelerator increases speed and efficiency in the hiring process and gives hiring managers actionable skills profiles of each candidate in their pipeline. 

Session Takeaways: 

• Attendees will learn business trends around skills-based hiring and their effects on workforce development. 
• Attendees will see a live demonstration of a practical, AI-powered, skills assessment tool in action. 
• Attendees will take away access to a free career assessment platform they can use in their regions. 

The Virginia Workforce Connection is the system of record and reporting for WIOA Title I programs. This session will be a general discussion around current system configuration and function, as well as some future enhancements. This session will cover aspects of data collection, information impacting WIOA program performance and using the existing VaWC reports to identify issues and trends. We will also cover many navigation functions and shortcuts available to staff. This session should appeal to any staff using the VaWC.

This interactive session explores how regions can center youth voice and youth advocacy while aligning local governments, workforce boards, nonprofit organizations, educators, and businesses to strategically leverage funds and in-kind investment. The session is grounded in the belief that collaboration over competition is an act of relationship building and love in action rooted in trust, shared responsibility, and a collective commitment to young people.

Using real-world regional initiatives such as Teen Summit RVA, InspireYouth@Work, Bossin’ Up, and the Regional Youth Advisory Council as case examples, participants will examine how youth-identified priorities are elevated into funding decisions, program design, and regional strategy. The session highlights practical approaches for collectively braiding public and private resources, establishing shared governance structures, and ensuring youth participation moves beyond advisory roles into meaningful and actionable influence.
Through facilitated discussion, peer learning, and applied exercises, participants will explore how relationship-centered collaboration reduces duplication, strengthens talent pipelines, deepens employer engagement, and supports community-driven workforce solutions. The session emphasizes moving from parallel efforts to shared ownership of youth outcomes, prioritizing regional benefit over individual program recognition.

Sessions Objectives
• Examine strategies for authentically centering youth voice in regional workforce initiatives
• Identify practical methods for aligning systems and braiding funding to support youth-centered investments
• Explore how collaboration over competition strengthens regional impact and trust

Communities across Virginia are grappling with persistent workforce shortages in early childhood education and care (ECCE), leaving many families unable to find care for children from birth to age five. These challenges stem from fragmented career pathways, low wages, limited access to professional development, organizational capacity constraints, and ongoing barriers to recruitment and retention. 

The Early Learning Career Launch (ELCL) was intentionally designed as a community partnership model to address these challenges by building a sustainable ECCE talent pipeline. ELCL focuses on reducing barriers to entry and advancement, professionalizing the early childhood workforce, and supporting wage growth through aligned budgeting strategies, shared services, and coordinated employer engagement. Central to the model is a cohort-based approach to educator preparation that integrates job readiness, credential attainment, paid training, mentorship, and wraparound supports to strengthen recruitment, retention, and long-term career advancement. 

While ELCL continues to evolve, its design and early implementation offer valuable lessons for communities building workforce pipelines. This session focuses on how ELCL was designed, is being implemented, and could be replicated in other regions rather than on final outcomes. Participants will learn how cross-sector partners and collaborate to align roles, define shared workforce goals, and leverage the cohort model to support peer learning, persistence, and completion. 

Presenters will highlight key design decisions, partnership structures, and early implementation strategies, including cohort-based learning, shared services, and blended public-private funding. Participants will leave with practical insights and guiding questions for designing, piloting, and scaling community-based talent pipelines that support workforce stability and economic mobility. 

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future elevates career counseling as a core strategy for connecting students to high-demand career pathways. What makes Maryland’s approach distinctive is the formal integration of local workforce development boards into the delivery and design of career counseling systems.

This session will focus on the integral role workforce boards play in implementing Blueprint-aligned career counseling in partnership with K–12 school systems, community colleges, and employers. Presenters will highlight how these cross-sector partnerships were formed, how roles and responsibilities were clarified, and how workforce boards are leveraging labor market intelligence, employer relationships, and work-based learning infrastructure to make career advising relevant and actionable.

Participants will learn practical strategies for building durable partnerships between workforce, education, and industry. The session will examine governance structures, joint planning approaches, employer engagement models, and methods for embedding career exposure, work-based learning, and postsecondary transition planning into the student experience.

The Maryland Workforce Association will also share how it supports implementation statewide through coordinated professional development, peer learning collaboratives, and technical assistance for workforce boards and partners. This includes strengthening frontline career counselors’ understanding of labor market data, industry engagement, and pathway design.

The session will conclude with a forward-looking discussion: what’s next in Maryland’s implementation, where challenges remain, and how other states can adapt this partnership-driven model to strengthen their own talent pipelines.

Workforce development systems thrive on collaboration, shared learning, and the ability to adapt global best practices to local challenges. At the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association (PWDA), we believe that building intentional communities of practice—rooted in diverse perspectives and collective problem-solving—is essential to advancing outcomes for job seekers, employers, and practitioners.

In 2025, PWDA conducted a landmark international learning expedition that brought workforce leaders from Pennsylvania to study innovative workforce systems abroad. The trip was designed not as a tour, but as an immersive learning journey, focusing on how cross-sector partnerships, skills-based pathways, sectoral alignment, and policy ecosystems function at scale in other contexts. Participants engaged with government agencies, employers, education partners, and community innovators to identify practices that address shared challenges like talent pipeline development, equitable access, and system agility.

This session will focus on how those international insights have catalyzed new communities of practice within Pennsylvania’s workforce ecosystem, fostering sustained peer learning, joint strategy development, and real-world implementation. We’ll share:

Key themes and lessons from international workforce systems that are informing local work

How PWDA structures communities of practice to support workforce professionals, partners, and leaders

Practical examples of collaborative problem-solving and innovative practices taking shape across PA

Tools for symposium participants to build or strengthen their own learning communities

Attendees will walk away with actionable strategies to grow practitioner networks, promote shared learning, and accelerate system innovation across their regions.

Our Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program delivers strong outcomes by strategically aligning resources, partnerships, and initiatives to meet both participant and employer needs. Central to this success is our Employer Engagement Team (EET), a group of job development specialists who cultivate partnerships with employers committed to workforce equity and sustainability.

The EET’s coordinated approach aligns candidate training with employer skill needs, streamlines recruitment, and improves retention by leveraging grant funding to support work-based learning for both job seekers and businesses. Through this outcome-driven model and collaboration with community partners, participants achieve measurable skills gains, industry-recognized credentials, and sustained employment in high-demand sectors.

In response to federal workforce reductions, we have utilized Talent Up and Rapid Response grant funding to deliver timely, targeted support to displaced federal workers and contractors. Talent Up prioritizes rapid re-employment through work-based learning placements paying at least $35 per hour, while Rapid Response provides customized services including occupational training, On-the-Job Training (OJT), and Work Experience (WEX).

This session will demonstrate how strategic, coordinated employer engagement aligned with business needs, combined with work-based learning and targeted grants, can meet both employer and worker needs. Participants will learn how an equity-focused, outcome-driven approach improves performance, strengthens workforce resilience, and deepens employer partnerships. Attendees will leave able to describe key components of an Employer Engagement Team model, identify ways to enhance business services using work-based learning and funding, and develop actionable steps to strengthen their own employer engagement strategies.

Sustainable employment requires more than technical ability; it demands a foundation of power skills—the human‑centered competencies that allow adults to navigate workplace expectations, build trust, communicate effectively, and remain resilient in the face of challenges. For individuals rebuilding their lives, especially those in recovery or re‑entry, these skills are not optional. They are transformative.
This session explores how place‑based, community‑driven workforce programs can strengthen employment outcomes by embedding power skills into every stage of training. Drawing from lived experience, adult learning principles, and years of workforce development practice, the session demonstrates how community context, trauma‑informed instruction, and relational learning environments create the conditions for long‑term employment success.
Participants will engage in a practical exercise that models how to teach power skills in ways that are culturally responsive, strengths‑based, and deeply relevant to adults facing barriers to employment. The session will also highlight insights from The Works System Curriculum, a comprehensive employability training model used in recovery and re‑entry settings, to illustrate how structured, community‑rooted approaches can elevate both participant confidence and job retention.

Participants will learn to:
• Identify the core power skills that most influence job retention for adults re‑entering the workforce.
• Understand how place‑based and community‑driven strategies strengthen employability training.
• Integrate strengths‑based approaches that honor participant lived experience and community identity.
• Explore how structured curriculum models support consistent, scalable delivery of power skills training.
By the end of the session, participants will leave with:
• Strategies for strengthening participant engagement and retention
• A deeper understanding of how recovery, re‑entry, and trauma‑informed practices intersect with employability training
• A model for integrating structured, community‑responsive curriculum into workforce initiatives

Jobs for Virginia Graduates has its finger on the pulse of Virginia's outstanding talent pipeline. JVG's Job Specialists work in Virginia’s public schools to help marginalized students graduate, gain the skills to be successful in the workplace, and explore careers in their local labor market. JVG is currently developing an Opportunity Portal, designed to be a directory to connect students with local and regional opportunities for guest speakers, field trips, employer engagement experiences, job-shadowing, scholarships, internships, campus visits, and job postings.

During this session JVG invites you to help take an active role in shaping the workforce of tomorrow by partnering with local JVG programming through our Opportunity Portal. Your involvement is an investment in your community, your business or organization, and our program with a proven track record of national excellence. Our students have skills and industry credentials and we want them to meet you, learn from your experience, and build their professional networks. 

Jobs for Virginia Graduates currently serves 1800 public middle and high school students across Virginia, along with 750 recent graduates from the class of 2025. Our Virginia Job Specialists work to deliver authentic career exploration and preparation experiences to JVG students, so we are building the JVG Opportunity Portal as a central place for JVG Job Specialists to tap into the experience of professionals in their community and around the state.

Today’s workforce challenges are not simply about finding workers. They are about broken systems that fail to align employers, education, and community supports into a functioning talent pipeline. Across Virginia, workforce boards, schools, and employers are investing in training programs, yet hiring delays, turnover, and skills gaps continue to grow. The missing link is often not funding or interest but the lack of a coordinated human resources infrastructure that connects talent development to real employer needs.

This session introduces an HR led workforce systems model that helps regions move from fragmented programs to integrated, employer driven pipelines. Drawing from real world examples across healthcare, nonprofit, and service sectors, participants will explore how HR strategy, compliance, culture, and workforce planning can be used as tools to strengthen hiring, retention, and advancement.

Participants will learn how to identify breakdowns in their local workforce systems, including employer onboarding barriers, training misalignment, and retention risks. The session will also provide a practical framework for aligning K 12, postsecondary training, workforce boards, and employers into a shared talent strategy.

Key takeaways include a workforce infrastructure map, an employer readiness scorecard, and a replicable model for building sustainable talent pipelines. Attendees will leave with clear steps they can apply in their own regions to improve employer engagement, increase workforce participation, and support long term economic and community development.

This session is designed for workforce professionals, educators, and employer partners seeking solutions that go beyond programs and toward building workforce systems that actually work.

Work-Based Learning (WBL) plays a critical role in preparing students for life beyond graduation by intentionally connecting classroom instruction to real-world careers. This session introduces participants to the Work-Based Learning Continuum. Explore, Equip, and Experience. It highlights how coordinated efforts among schools, employers, and policy leaders can build a strong, sustainable talent pipeline from early learning through high school graduation.

Participants will gain a shared understanding of how WBL opportunities can be developmentally aligned, beginning with career awareness and exploration in the early grades, advancing to skill development and employability training, and culminating in authentic workplace experiences such as job shadowing, internships, and apprenticeships. The session will showcase practical strategies for designing meaningful WBL experiences that meet student needs while also addressing workforce demands.

Employers and Workforce Professionals will learn how engagement at multiple levels of the continuum can strengthen future talent pipelines and create early connections with motivated students. Educators will explore ways to embed WBL into existing programs and coursework without adding unnecessary burden. Policy makers will gain insight into how aligned systems and partnerships support economic development, workforce readiness, and equitable access to career opportunities.

By the end of the session, participants will be equipped with tools to evaluate current WBL efforts, identify gaps, and determine actionable next steps. The session emphasizes collaboration, shared responsibility, and long-term impact, offering a roadmap for building strong partnerships that prepare students for meaningful careers while supporting local workforce needs.

When employees feel dismissed, overlooked, or unheard, the result is invalidation, personally and professionally. Invalidation erodes trust and motivation—ultimately driving disengagement that quietly drains team performance. This breakout session explores the subtle but powerful ways invalidation shows up in everyday interactions and how leaders, managers, and peers can reverse the pattern. Participants will examine real world scenarios, reflect on communication habits, and learn practical strategies to create a culture where people feel valued and seen, learning the connection between invalidation and disengagement, and how organizations can take meaningful steps towards combatting this issue.

OBJECTIVES
Identify common forms of invalidation—both intentional and unintentional—and their emotional and behavioral impact on employees.

Explore the link between invalidation and disengagement, including how disengagement manifests in performance and culture.

Identify communication techniques that foster validation.

Develop actionable strategies to reduce invalidation triggers and strengthen employee connection and commitment.

Illustrate how validation contributes to innovation and overall organizational performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Invalidation is often subtle, but its cumulative effect significantly reduces motivation, creativity, and willingness to contribute.

Employees who feel consistently dismissed or minimized are far more likely to disengage, withdraw, not use their full repertoire of talent, or leave the organization.

Validation is not about agreement—it’s about acknowledgment and respect.

Small shifts in communication can dramatically improve engagement and team cohesion.

Leaders who model validating behaviors set the tone for healthier, more connected workplace cultures.

This training session will explore one example of a creative talent pipeline utilizing individuals with disability to fill a hiring gap in talent and retention. Participants will learn how employer and business engagement can work together to utilize resources, fill market demand and create a strong and long-lasting pipeline of talent for years to come. Presenters will focus on training resources used, partnership that made the pipeline successful and to date outcomes. The session will also cover how the participants were paid, time frame for project, how participants were managed in the waiting period, and continued project analysis and adjustments. 

This presentation is designed to inform stakeholders about the key education components of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and its impact on supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness.

The session will offer a succinct overview of the Act, focusing on its purpose to ensure educational stability and support for students experiencing homelessness. Central to this presentation is the critical role of connecting older youth and parents to the local Workforce Development agency, which provides essential employment support services for families seeking greater self-sufficiency and stability. The importance of the McKinney-Vento liaison’s partnership with the local workforce development board will be emphasized, demonstrating how this collaboration enhances access to employment resources and opportunities for those most in need. The presentation will further detail the strategies and communication efforts employed by Roanoke City Public Schools to keep older youth and parents informed about available services and how to access vital workforce development support. Additionally, contact information for all Virginia McKinney-Vento liaisons will be provided to ensure attendees have direct access to knowledgeable resources and ongoing support.

Attendees will gain practical insights into fostering effective collaboration between schools and community agencies, ultimately enhancing support networks for students and families experiencing homelessness.

Northern Virginia’s workforce ecosystem has weathered extraordinary disruption in recent years—from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Afghan evacuation, federal layoffs, and rapid swings between employer-driven and jobseeker-driven labor markets. Amid these shifting economic and funding realities, Employment Supports for Lifelong Achievement (ESLA), a Virginia Department of Social Services–funded initiative, has remained a consistent pathway to employment for families facing significant barriers.

For more than a decade, ESLA has supported TANF recipients and TANF-eligible low-income families in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties through individualized, one-on-one employment services designed to promote stability, skill development, and long-term attachment to the labor force. This session will showcase the practical, field-tested strategies ESLA staff use every day to produce meaningful workforce outcomes for vulnerable populations.

Participants will gain insight into how ESLA partners with the local DFS agencies, leverages technology, builds strong community partnerships, engages employers, incorporates paid work experience, and connects customers to critical employment resources.

This presentation will provide an overview of Virginia’s workforce by focusing on the critical intersections of employer demand, labor supply, and skills gaps. By drawing on data from diverse sources, this session will illustrate trends in Virginia’s workforce and challenges faced by employers, education intuitions, policymakers, and job seekers alike. Key challenges include population changes and a stagnant labor force participation rate, increased exposure to AI across a number of occupations, and structural barriers to employment such as childcare responsibilities and rising housing costs which spurs outmigration. The presentation will not only richly illustrate trends and challenges, but provide audience members with varied, innovative, and strategic solutions that have either been implemented already, will soon be implemented, or which can be implemented in the future. Such solutions will range from legislative policy-based interventions to hiring strategies for employers. Examples of solutions to be highlighted in the presentation include increasing access to work-based learning, targeted investment in educational programs, and skills-based hiring approaches. 

Audience members will take away the ability to understand quantitative labor market and economic data through thoughtful data visualization and interpretation on behalf of the presentation and presenters. In addition, the presenters will utilize Mentimeter to gather responses from the audience members regarding top workforce concerns and occupations, industries, and regions of interest. These answers will be used to guide a real-time demonstration of a VOEE dashboard, illustrating how using such a tool can help inform and address workforce challenges. 

Designing effective self-sufficiency programs within affordable housing often requires innovation, flexibility, and a willingness to change the usual ways of doing things to meet the needs of residents to ensure they can bring their voice to the table and be in the driver’s seat in planning their future. 

When working with public housing and very low-income community members it is important to assess the program participants' readiness for employment and training programs to ensure the best possible outcomes. If an individual is experiencing housing instability and this is not addressed initially, their chance of success with Economic Opportunity Programs is reduced. 

This is a process that requires continuous reflection and the willingness to pivot if current practices are not showing results. 

Basic overview:

Key players buy-in, staff understanding/collaboration, referral structures, partnerships 

Warm hand-offs and TIC view 

Resources 

Things to still be improved and built upon 

Q&A time 

Objective: Share best practices from the Business Solutions Team (BST).

Effective workforce partner collaboration allows us to collectively address key priorities, including employer engagement, economic and community development, and talent pipeline challenges. The Business Solutions Team is a valuable resource for strengthening regional impact, and the Shenandoah Valley (SV) team leverages this strength well. SV team members represent their agencies with BST support when engaging employers. They are encouraged to understand partner services and make soft handoffs to ensure no opportunity is overlooked. 

The BST’s solution focused approach creates additional avenues for partner interaction. However, employer time constraints remain an ongoing challenge. The SV team has demonstrated successful collaboration through activities such as participating in hiring events, symposiums, resource fairs, and open houses (annually); hosting guest employers ; and coordinating tours, office hours on a monthly basis. The team also offers workshops, work groups, and subcommittee consultations when monthly meetings are insufficient. The SV has a well-established Job Fair Committee and other work groups that meet as needed which include Work Based Learning and a new Work Readiness group.

Key Takeaways: 
- Employer engagement begins with team engagement.
- Workgroups
- Understand the services your partners provide. 
- Maintain an up to date Business Resource Guide. 
- Encourage soft handoffs and networking. 

Across Virginia, communities are grappling with fragmented talent pipelines, disconnected systems, and employer frustration with workforce readiness. This session presents a replicable, practice-driven model for designing a regional talent pipeline that intentionally aligns K–12 education, higher education, workforce boards, and employers around shared outcomes.

Drawing from the implementation of Old Dominion University’s College Partnership Lab School Network and its role as a statewide intermediary, this session will explore how regions can move beyond isolated programs toward coordinated, career-aligned pathways that begin in elementary and middle school and extend through postsecondary credentials and employment. Participants will learn how early career exposure, work-based learning, and employer co-design can be embedded into public education systems in ways that are sustainable, scalable, and responsive to regional labor market needs.

The session will focus on practical implementation lessons, including governance structures, partnership agreements, employer engagement strategies, and the role of universities and workforce intermediaries in aligning systems that traditionally operate in silos. Real examples from aerospace, maritime, computer science, and STEM pathways will illustrate how this approach supports diverse learners while strengthening regional workforce capacity.

Key takeaways include:
A framework for building cross-sector talent pipelines grounded in regional labor market demand
Strategies for aligning K–12, postsecondary, and workforce systems without creating new bureaucracy
Practical lessons for engaging employers as long-term partners rather than episodic participants
Tools participants can adapt to their own regions immediately

Central Virginia Community College’s CTE Academy has become a regional model for building seamless, workforce aligned pathways that connect high school students to postsecondary education and in demand careers. Launched in Fall 2021, the Academy provides high quality dual enrollment CTE programs for high school juniors and seniors directly on CVCC’s main campus, resulting in a more than 115% increase in CTE dual enrollment participation. This growth reflects strong industry engagement, intentional collaboration with K–12 partners, and a shared commitment to strengthening the regional talent pipeline.
This session will explore how the Academy was developed, highlighting strategies that supported accelerated enrollment growth and expanded program access. Presenters will examine key successes—such as aligning curricula across secondary and postsecondary systems, improving the transferability of CTE coursework, and ensuring students can seamlessly continue in CVCC programs after graduation—as well as challenges faced along the way.

The presentation will also spotlight CareerLink, CVCC’s new initiative that integrates career readiness training and work-based learning directly into CTE pathways. By providing hands on learning, industry exposure, and employability skill development, CareerLink enhances the student experience and better prepares learners for immediate entry into high demand fields.

Attendees will gain practical, replicable insights into building workforce focused dual enrollment models that strengthen credential attainment, deepen employer partnerships, and expand equitable access to career aligned education. Whether your goal is to address local talent shortages, create stronger school college alignment, or scale CTE pathways that lead to real workforce outcomes, this session provides a roadmap informed by proven strategies and regional success.

Workforce needs are evolving faster than traditional career advising models can scale. To address this gap, the Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC) and Mease Consulting partnered to build an AI-powered career coach—a next-generation virtual advisor accessible 24/7 that delivers personalized career guidance rooted in contemporary labor market research and coaching expertise.

This presentation will explore how the platform empowers job seekers, students, and lifelong learners to navigate career exploration, job search strategies, skill development, and professional growth without barriers of time or staffing constraints. Leveraging conversational AI informed by decades of labor market insight, the coach answers real career questions, provides tailored recommendations, and supports individuals at key decision points in their journeys.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the design and implementation of AI-enhanced career coaching in a higher education and workforce development context.

Evaluate how on-demand AI guidance complements traditional career services and scales support for diverse learner populations.

Assess measurable impacts on engagement, confidence, and career decision-making through real user experiences.

Explore replication strategies for institutions and organizations seeking to expand equitable access to career support.

Attendees will leave equipped with actionable insights for integrating similar AI coaching solutions within their own career support ecosystems.

Building a strong talent pipeline requires more than good intentions—it requires intentional partnerships, shared accountability, and practical tools that work in real-world conditions. Workforce Development, adult education and community colleges play a critical role in building effective talent pipelines that respond to regional labor market demand and support learners at multiple entry points. This session highlights practical strategies for aligning education and training programs, community colleges, workforce boards, and employers to create seamless pathways into postsecondary credentials, registered apprenticeships, and employment. Participants will explore how training and education providers are partnering with employers to deliver work-based learning, paid training, and industry-aligned career pathways. The session will examine approaches to integrating college and career readiness, contextualized instruction, and work-based learning to better serve individuals transitioning from secondary education, dislocated workers, and career changers. Emphasis is placed on cross-sector collaboration, practical implementation, and peer learning that can be adapted across local and regional contexts.

Key Takeaways
• Effective strategies for aligning adult education and community college programs with employer demand
• Strategies for supporting learner transitions into postsecondary credentials, apprenticeships, and  employment
• Lessons learned from cross-system partnerships that improve access, persistence, and outcomes

Session Objectives
Participants will be able to:
1. Identify actionable strategies to strengthen adult and postsecondary talent pipelines.
2. Apply peer-tested approaches to education–employer collaboration.
3. Take away practical ideas to improve learner transitions and employment outcomes.

This session will focus on the components necessary to launch a successful and sustainable workplace literacy class, resulting in valuable gains and growth, for programs and employers. We will share our experience of partnering with Old Dominion Group (a premier services construction company) to focus on three areas: building PARTNERSHIPS, building CURRICULUM, and building OPPORTUNITIES. We will provide practical ways to create a workplace literacy class that gives all stakeholders a voice, complete with learning tools/templates, as well as time to network & brainstorm! 

Through interactive discussion and concrete examples, we will provide the hands-on approach to launch a workplace literacy class that can be tailored to fit the needs of local employers. In addition to providing ways to build partnerships, we will share the process of creating a curriculum, student guide and benchmark checklist, as well as the effective use of the online platform, EnGen. Padlet will be integrated during the session to provide a space for all participants’ input.

Objectives:
Participants will -
* recognize the need for workplace literacy in local programs
* identify key components to build and maintain powerful partnerships 
* identify tools and strategies to build curriculum to meet employers’ needs
* design a plan to begin building workplace literacy opportunities