Monthly Archives: February 2017

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NOVA Workforce Releases Innovative Quarterly Regional Economic Report

NOVA Workforce has published an innovative labor market dashboard to support the development of a strategic approach to meet the current workforce needs of regional employers. This new report will benefit economic development agencies, job seekers, and local employers by providing a snapshot of the regional labor market, ultimately putting the region on a path to remain economically competitive.

The inaugural report shows there were over 73,000 job opportunities posted in the northern Virginia region last quarter. Of these jobs, 10,000 were tied to healthcare and cybersecurity, two of the region’s most in-demand career fields. This report also highlights information related to the top hiring industries and sectors, the top hiring employers and a featured industry spotlight.

“NOVA is committed to producing graduates that can seamlessly plug into local jobs that benefit the regional economy,” said NOVA President Scott Ralls. “This report will give the regional community frequent access to rich data on the most sought-after positions in the region. It will be a one-stop shop for data on the number of positions available in various counties within the region, in various career fields, jobs advertised by specific local employers and also regional unemployment data.”

There are many reports provided by government agencies that describe job outlook, median pay and local career forecast. However, this report is specific to the northern Virginia region and provides a very detailed overview of the most relevant and urgent workforce needs in this area. The data will inform strategic planning efforts to build a talent pipeline to ensure businesses may continue to thrive in the regional economy.

“The data paints a clear picture. We need more skilled workers to fill these jobs. But the only way that will happen is if we start working together much more closely as an entire region”, says Todd Rowley, Northern Virginia Community College and Northern Virginia Workforce Board Chair.

“This report shows us that we are in a desperate state,” says Steve Partridge, Vice President, NOVA Workforce. “Based on the number of job openings coupled with the low unemployment rate, we need to immediately examine the skills required by these open jobs and identify a comprehensive approach to close the talent gap.”

The report is a combined effort of NOVA Workforce, the SkillSource Group, and the Alexandria-Arlington Regional Workforce Council.

The data is compiled using two market intelligence tools—JobsEQ by Chmura Economics and Burning Glass Technologies. This report is available on the NOVA Workforce website, in addition to other labor market information: http://www.nvcc.edu/workforce/research.html.

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NOVA Workforce Receives $100,000 From Capital One to Develop Cybersecurity Pathway

Northern Virginia Community College has received a $100,000 grant from Capital One Foundation to help develop the Cybersecurity Career Pathways Project that will inform and support middle and high school students in the Northern Virginia Region who wish to explore and hopefully pursue a career in cybersecurity. The project will whet the appetite of a future generation of cyber workers and eventually fill a regional and national skills gap that will only continue to widen in the coming years.

NOVA will be working as part of a cohort of 14 community colleges in D.C., Maryland, New York and Texas to develop some thematic areas of focus in relation to labor-market data and career pathways to create a pilot program with two Prince William County public high schools—Forest Park and Potomac—both chosen due to their high level of diversity and for the large number of students from underserved populations.

The program will offer training to teachers and counselors within the schools to teach them the importance of these fields and to relay the needs expressed by local employers. Students will attend activities and have the chance to learn about the growing field of cybersecurity. They will participate in internships and “job-shadow” opportunities and will achieve a cybersecurity credential while still in high school. They will then move through NOVA and hopefully a four-year institution and emerge prepared to succeed in this very in-demand and high-paying field. Ultimately, as a result of this pilot, students will have a greater understanding of the importance of the cybersecurity field and the value that achieving a credential can bring them in terms of launching a career with a bright future.

NOVA’s Cybersecurity program provides a curriculum that is mapped to DHS and NSA cybersecurity education standards and is designated by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Administration as a Center of Academic Excellence for two-year institutions (CAE2Y). Our AAS Cybersecurity degree is transferable to many four-year institutions and offers students the opportunity to participate in a variety of exciting competitions and extra-curricular activities. NOVA is a founding member of the National CyberWatch Center, a national consortium of colleges and universities focused on cybersecurity education.