2nd Annual Governor's Forum on Education & Workforce Training

The Honorable Robert F. McDonnell gave the keynote address on "Aligning the Agenda: Education-Economic Development-Business" at the 2nd Annual Governor's Forum on Education & Workforce Training.

So why and how does education and business align to create a competitively trained workforce to improve the economy? Consider some of the facts that the Governor shared in his keynote address.

• An educated workforce is an essential component in Virginia for being competitive.




• Virginia is ranked number one for small business and ranked second only to CA in the number of trained technology workforce.




• The goal must be when you exit high school you must be career ready or college ready or you will fall behind.




• We need to mesh the needs of the workforce with the degrees being offered at college.




• Community colleges should be the "epi-centers" for workforce development efforts.




• Forge a climate of innovation and entreprenueralship.




• VA schools need to develop STEM curriculum to be ready for the 21st Century, which means more STEM teachers, more STEM learning opportunities, more education and business partnerships and an increase in STEM academic areas.

"To get a good job...you need a good education." Governor Robert McDonnell