LYNCHBURG, Va. – Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin made a stop in the Hill City on Wednesday to sign a new bill to expand workforce development in the Commonwealth.
“This is a great opportunity for us to first target better, to broaden and communicate better,” Gov. Youngkin said. “That’s what’s exciting.”
The new initiative is called “Virginia Works.”
“The workforce programs will be preparing people for the fastest growing job opportunities,” Governor Youngkin said. “The second thing this bill does is open up more apprenticeships, particularly for younger Virginians in high school.”
Senator David Suetterlein (R-Roanoke) introduced the bill. He hopes it makes the job-seeking process easier.
“This legislation will use data from industry to work with our community colleges and others to provide more job training in high-demand field,” Sen. Suetterlein said.
Youngkin hopes this legislation will have an impact for years to come.
“The need is enormous,” Gov. Youngkin said. “The reason why is that we have both employers with many, many unmet job opportunities. Hundreds of thousands of them, and we have Virginians who are ready to take them.”