The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) announced today that Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) has signed on as its first ever NVTC Academic Partner. This new partnership reflects NVTC and NOVA’s joint commitment to ensuring the Northern Virginia region has a robust pipeline of highly-skilled information technology workers.

Recognizing the tremendous impact of the information technology sector, both currently and in the future, it is critical for educational institutions and businesses to partner together to attract and retain a talented workforce. This innovative partnership will better align training and workforce needs within the Northern Virginia region, ultimately allowing businesses to remain economically competitive. In addition to positively impacting the business community, this partnership will better prepare students to enter the labor market, as NOVA will flex with changing employer demands to enhance and grow new programs to ensure individuals are equipped with the real-time skills needed on the job.

“The region’s universities and community colleges have been active participants and leaders in the NVTC community,” said NVTC President and CEO Bobbie Kilberg. “With this new partnership, Northern Virginia Community College is affirming its willingness to support the workforce needs of the region’s technology community.”

The Washington, D.C. metro area, with 161,000 information technology job advertisements over the last 12 months, is the second largest region in the country for employers seeking IT workers. Additionally, job growth in the information technology field is projected to increase by 1.7% annually over the next 10 years, adding 34,000 new IT jobs to the region’s economy by 2027.

In addition to support for many of NVTC’s year-round events and programs, NOVA’s Academic Partnership includes sponsorship of NVTC’s Tech Talent Initiative, which aims to address the workforce challenges of NVTC members and the Greater Washington technology community.

“We are proud to be NVTC’s inaugural Academic Partner,” said Northern Virginia Community College President Dr. Scott Ralls. “NOVA is committed to creating a workforce pipeline that meets both the capacity and the competency requirements that are driving our regional economy. Partnering more closely with NVTC and its members will allow us to develop programs, curriculum and content that align with the needs of the region’s technology employers.”

Northern Virginia Community College is pleased to announce the graduation of its first cohort of Uncommon Coders. Following a competitive application and interview process, this first cohort launched in early February. The group of ten students has spent 60 to 80 hours a week for the past 12-weeks in an accelerated on-site program designed to train veterans and give them the valuable coding skills they need to enter the very in-demand field of IT coding. Students have learned Java coding language, giving them the skills they need to move up in the information technology workforce. The program is focused on veterans, transitioning service members, military spouses and veteran spouses.

NOVA Workforce has partnered with the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) to work with local and regional employers to learn their workforce needs and to help meet them. The partnership resulted in publication of the Northern Virginia Workforce Needs Assessment which identified a strong demand for individuals with soft skills, coupled with technical skills in coding languages, such as Java. NOVA is taking an industry driven approach to ensuring employers have the talent pipeline they need to remain competitive in our regional economy.

Uncommon Coders was developed to meet the growing demand for programming-related jobs in the D.C. metro area, while also equipping local talent with the skills they need to get hired. NOVA Workforce hired The Iron Yard, a nationally-recognized coding and programming boot camp provider to support instructional aspects of the program.

Businesses in the D.C. metro region are expected to add 22,000 new jobs in the technology sector over the next ten years, a figure that does not account for vacancies left by retiring workers. As of April 2017, there are more than 25,000 information technology vacancies in the region.

More about the Uncommon Coders program.

NOVA Workforce is excited to publish our latest regional labor market dashboard for January through March, 2017. Important highlights include:

• There were 91,474 job postings advertised online during this time period, indicating an increase of 11.3% in the number of available jobs over the last quarter of 2016.
• There were 13,430 cybersecurity and healthcare positions alone, representing 14.7% of all advertised positions.
• The employer highlight features Navy Federal Credit Union, which has announced job expansion in the NOVA region.
• The industry spotlight is on Outpatient Care Centers, one of the fastest-growing healthcare industries in the region.

For additional labor market research publications, data resources, or to contact us, please visit our website at www.nvcc.edu/workforce under the “Labor Market Research” tab. NOVA Workforce also thanks the Alexandria/Arlingtion Regional Workforce Council and The Skillsource Group for their support with the Regional Quarterly dashboard.

View the dashboard.

Whether you are looking to gain additional credentials to boost your current career success or learn a new skill to make a career change, NOVA Workforce has the classes and programs you need to succeed. Our programs provide you with the skills and training you need in high-growth industries. Classes are affordable and available both online and in person at one of our six local campuses. Classes begin in May, so register online today!