VGCC Celebrates Workforce Development Professionals

The staff of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) department at Vance-Granville Community College is joining their peers across the state in celebrating the month of May as “Workforce Development Professional Month.” Professionals in VGCC’s WIA Department, a federally-funded program designed to serve and meet the needs of the community’s workforce, work with other community partners on economic challenges in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties, by providing comprehensive services to job seekers and businesses throughout the community.

The WIA (formerly the Job Training Partnership Act) program has been active at VGCC for 26 years. The department has provided quality training and employment opportunities to over 2,200 area residents, according to Sylvia Jones, WIA program director at VGCC. The WIA department is located in Building 4, room 4237, on the college’s main campus.

The program is named for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, federal legislation that provides training and employment opportunities for eligible adults and youth. Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor through state and local Workforce Development Boards, target populations generally include the unemployed, underemployed, economically disadvantaged, dislocated workers or those who need employment skills upgrading. Funds for the program are administered locally by the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.

Jones said that May is an exciting and busy month for the WIA department. “In addition to celebrating with eight participants who are graduating with their associate degrees,” she said, “the department has filled this month with several other activities in order to acknowledge the cooperation of WIA participants as well as the employers we have worked with during this fiscal year.” Activities include a recognition program, scheduled for May 21, for all WIA participants that successfully completed the goals and requirements of the WIA program by graduating from an academic program or entering/re-entering into the workforce.

For more information on the services provided by WIA, contact Sylvia Jones on VGCC’s main campus, at (252) 738-3297.
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