02 Virginia Talent Accelerator Program Advances to No. 2 in the Nation

Virginia Talent Accelerator Program Advances to No. 2 in the Nation

In April 2021, the Governor announced that STS Group AG will invest $39 million to establish its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Wythe County, creating 120 new jobs. STS joined a critical mass of companies that chose a Virginia location in FY21, thanks in part to the highly customized training and recruitment support offered from the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program. Combined, these companies will create 2,417 new jobs for Virginians.

The STS announcement exemplifies how the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program helps rural and small metros compete for vital job creation projects (see more in the case study on page 58). VEDP launched the program in FY20 in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and support from the Governor and General Assembly. The job creation incentive provides training and recruitment solutions customized to each company’s unique processes, equipment, and culture.

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program also equips metro area communities with a powerful advantage as they compete for game-changing projects. In FY21, Petersburg landed two new pharmaceutical manufacturing operations and catapulted itself to the forefront of bio-pharma manufacturing destinations. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program offered a level of customized recruitment and training support not available in competitor states, helping convince both companies to choose Petersburg and create a combined 324 high-paying jobs for area residents (see more in the case study on page 58).

The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program team now includes 25 highly experienced professionals with expertise in talent acquisition, video services, visualization services, instructional design, learning technologies, manufacturing technologies, and organizational development. The program’s work is gaining national notoriety: In its first full year of operations, the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program helped Virginia advance in both national rankings of top workforce development programs, moving from No. 7 to No. 4 in Area Development’s and from No. 7 to No. 3 in Business Facilities’ ranking. In its second year, the program advanced to No. 2 in both rankings, putting VEDP well on the way toward reaching its ultimate goal of having the best program in America by 2023. The Virginia Talent Accelerator team members are thought leaders — they bring special expertise and resources that helped us design and execute on our commitments... When you have deadlines and projects with a huge impact, like we had, it’s very nice to have partners who we could trust and who walked lockstep with us.

DANA ALLISON Human Resources Director, GSK

Services include:

Recruiting:

■ Ad design/production ■ AI-enabled ad placements ■ Website design ■ Event coordination

Training:

■ Hands-on training ■ Simulations ■ Classroom training ■ E-learning ■ 3D Illustrations ■ Animations ■ Broadcast-quality video

GSK, Richmond

State workforce program rankings

2018–projected 2023

Area Development Business Facilities

History Forecast*

10 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

*Forecast assumes FY23 funding increase of $2.35M is approved to enable program to reach full capacity and serve projects statewide. Source: Area Development; Business Facilities; VEDP forecast

In March 2020, Morgan Olson began hiring production workers as part of its three-year plan to open a walk-in van assembly facility in Southern Virginia. With support from the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, Morgan Olson is on track to hire 703 employees in half the planned time, reducing new hire turnover by 80% relative to the rates the company experiences in other states.

I was employed by IKEA Industry, then the plant closed. I started the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program’s leadership training with an engineer mindset, not ever having been in a supervisory role. The training was a very good experience, and I certainly gained a lot from it. Now, I've been given the opportunity to be Morgan Olson’s Operations Manager.

JUSTIN SHELTON

Operations Manager, Morgan Olson