Workforce Development Division and U.S. Small Business Administration Inks Collaboration Agreement!

(Left to Right: Dr. Ron Beckwith, Business Development Director, Lynn Orosco, Business Development Manager, Dr. Lorinzo Foxworth, Associate Vice President , Workforce Development, William Gary SR., Vice President, Workforce Development, Antonio Doss, District Director SBA, Nicole Porter, Assistant District Director of Marketing and Outreach)

NOVA’s Workforce Development Division and the Washington Metropolitan Area District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) signed a collaboration agreement to deliver small business training services. The Agreement’s formal execution followed SBA’s annual Small Business Awards Celebration on August 21, 2013 and was signed by Antonio Doss, District Director – SBA and William Gary, Sr., VP, Workforce Development – NOVA. “Our SBA-NOVA staffs synergized very quickly to bring this Agreement from idea to reality,” said Mr. Doss. “Our joint brands create a stronger service identity throughout the metropolitan business community.”

The Agreement provides a framework for NOVA and SBA to join together in providing small business training support on a range of crucial topics through periodic workshops and seminars. The organizations have already launched a co-branded workshop series at NOVA’s Ernst Center around the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for which participant feedback has been extraordinary. Affectionately known as “Second Tuesdays,” denoting the fact that the ACA workshops will run on the second Tuesday of each month from now until year’s end, the joint ACA workshop schedule can be found at our website.

Beyond ACA, the WDD/SBA collaboration will offer periodic workshops on a range of timely business topics, including the enormous portfolio of business resource capabilities of the SBA as well as the customized business training services of NOVA. Both organizations will leverage their strong membership and customer reach to connect the workshops and services directly to the business community.

“It goes without saying, that this Agreement represents an extraordinary teaming commitment that addresses the training and development needs of one of the most critical drivers of our regional economy,” said Mr. Gary. “From the very beginning, our planning discussions with the Washington Metropolitan SBA staff were high energy with engaging ideas. The potential of the collaboration was more than obvious!”