Germanna Community’s Center for Workforce and Community Education, in partnership with Lord Fairfax Community College and Piedmont Virginia Community College, was recently awarded a two-year grant to train and certify heavy equipment operators.
It’s part of the Virginia Community College System’s FastForward program that prepares students to fill jobs in fields in which skilled workers are in great demand.
Germanna received $700,000 of a $1.4 million grant split between the schools. Much of the money will go toward paying for a virtual simulator lab for training heavy equipment operators. The training will be based at the GCC Fredericksburg Center for Advanced Technology in Central Park.
“Heavy equipment operators are in high demand in our service region,” said Martha O’Keefe, Associate Vice President for Workforce & Professional Development at Germanna. “We’ll be working closely with area employers, community partners and potential students to provide career pathways into the heavy equipment operation industry.”
O’Keefe said the classes will start at Germanna in the spring of 2019. She said students will have access both in the classroom and online, will participate in hands-on training via virtual heavy equipment simulation labs and will earn industry certifications. In addition, heavy equipment operator apprenticeship opportunities will be available for interested students and employers, she said.
“The expanded initiative provides an opportunity to truly create a pipeline of current and future employees who will reap the rewards of a well-paid and rewarding career pathway,” said Ken Garrison, Executive Director of the Heavy Construction Contractors Association.
With the third largest state-maintained road system in the U.S. and roughly 2.2 million miles of paved roadways, Virginia has a strong, demonstrated need for skilled heavy equipment operators. OKeefe said.
Annual earning potential for skilled operators averages about $43,000 per year and can grow to $70,000 or more per year, OKeefe said. Business partners Virginia Heavy Construction Contractors Association, the Virginia Asphalt Association, and Associated General Contractors of Virginia say a steady stream of operators is needed. Large HEO-related employers within the college’s service regions also support the need, and good employment opportunities are anticipated for workforce students completing the training and earning certifications.
Since July of 2016, Virginians who trained in FastForward programs at community colleges have earned more than 11,000 valuable industry recognized workforce credentials. FastForward training programs are specifically geared toward the needs of local businesses and offer students affordable access to new careers in weeks or months instead of semesters and years.
“FastForward is benefitting both the individuals who earn credentials in high demand fields and the businesses that are eager to hire skilled employees,” said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges. “These strategic investments will bolster those talent pipelines feeding these emerging industries and prepare even more people for these good-paying careers.” Find out more about FastForward at www.fastforwardva.org.
