For a community to thrive, its residents must have viable ways to work and evolve within a profession or career. The availability of such career pathways is not only vital to residents seeking to support themselves and contribute to the community, but it’s an important part of a strong economy. In 2015, the Community Foundation partnered with Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) and Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) to identify and develop such career pathways for local residents.
With a Strengthening Systems grant from the Community Endowment Fund, PVCC and CATEC are working to coordinate their programs to provide residents with a clear pathway to gaining the skills and training needed to obtain a degree or professional certification in a range of fields, including emerging professions such as cybersecurity. The multi-year grant is one of the Foundation’s inaugural system-strengthening grants that focus on enhancing the underlying systems on which our community depends. We look forward to reporting on how this work is impacting our community later this year.