Businesses in the Harrisonburg Metro Area have access to a wealth of employment and training services offered by state, regional and local agencies as well as private and state-supported colleges and universities. In the central Shenandoah Valley, businesses and educational institutions work together to ensure workforce needs are met today and workers are prepared for the jobs of the future.
The Virginia Jobs Investment Program is one of Virginia's most actively used economic development incentives. The program encourages the expansion of existing Virginia businesses and start-up of new business operations in Virginia. It specifically addresses the top concerns of existing businesses and economic development prospects – finding and developing a skilled workforce.
The Virginia Workforce Connection matches job seekers with employers and provides options for self-directed job searches in specific Virginia cities and counties, states, and throughout the nation.
Employment services and information also are available at:
The Valley On-the-Job Training Program, sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board Inc., offers employers a pre-screened pool of candidates, reimburses a minimum of 50 percent employees’ wages during their training, and pays for the trainees’ equipment purchases, such as safety shoes. This program helps to defray the expense of training workers for manufacturing jobs, such as process control technicians, maintenance technicians, refrigeration mechanics and other similar job titles. OJT Program funds also can be used to train health care workers such as radiographic technologists, laboratory techs, and many more.
The Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership provides funding for training in energy-related industries including green construction practices, advanced green manufacturing, energy auditing, weatherization, wind turbine and solar technology, and related fields. This program can pay full or partial payment of tuition until February 2013 or the funds are expended.
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership offers a compilation of training programs on its website. The list comprises offerings from both public and private institutions and ranges from Microsoft Word classes to certifications and degrees in various disciplines. A list of training providers can be found here and a map showing their locations is available here.