Virginia Awarded $6.9 Million in American Apprenticeship Grants

~ Funds to be used to expand apprenticeships in high-growth industries ~

RICHMOND – Governor McAuliffe today announced that Virginia has been awarded $6.9 million in American Apprenticeship Grants from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to expand apprenticeships in high-growth industries.  U.S. DOL awarded $175 million in grants to 46 awardees, and Virginia is being awarded funding for apprenticeship initiatives at the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board, Inc. and the Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA). CCWA is the workforce development partnership between John Tyler Community College and Reynolds Community College.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor McAuliffe said, “I am thrilled that Virginia is receiving these funds to help support apprenticeship programs in the Commonwealth. Preparing our workforce to perform the jobs needed by employers is essential for creating a new Virginia economy, and apprenticeships combine both work experience and education.”

“Strategies like apprenticeship programs are both great for talent development and for sourcing talent for employers,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones. “We want to increase these programs in Virginia to help prepare our workforce, and we congratulate the award recipients.”

The Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board, Inc. was awarded $4 million to fund the Valley to Virginia Apprenticeship Initiative (V2V). The project will target skilled trades in the advanced manufacturing industry and in-demand occupations in H-1B career pathways including; Mechatronics, Industrial Maintenance Technician, CNC Machine Operator, Welder and Production Technician.

V2V is expected to build support for the Registered Apprenticeship Journeyman credential adding 600 new registered apprenticeships in Virginia.  Key business partners include:  A.G.Stacker, Andros Foods North America, Ball Advanced Aluminum Technologies Corporation, The Hershey Company, Kraft Foods, ThermoFisher Scientific, R.R.Donnelley, Tenneco, and the Virginia Manufacturers Association. Key educational and service partners include:  Lord Fairfax Community College, Blue Ridge Community College, Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, Massanutten Technical Center, Valley Career and Technical Center, and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.

CCWA was awarded a $2.9 million grant to lead the Apprentice Virginia: Collaborative Workforce Solutions in Information Technology & Advanced Manufacturing project. Other partner colleges include Southside Virginia Community College and Danville Community College.  Partnerships with key employers including Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Maxx Potential, International Paper, DuPont Spruance and Rolls-Royce, as well as the South Central, Resource, Crater Regional and West Piedmont Workforce Development Boards will ensure program sustainability. The project will create and expand pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities for over 330 workers in targeted H-1B industries of information technology (IT) and advanced manufacturing in Virginia.

“These awards will assist Virginia employers with continuing to develop the highly skilled credentialed workers that are in demand in today’s competitive global economy,” said Ray Davenport, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI).  “Registered Apprenticeship combines flexible, carefully defined and employer-specific training under the guidance of a highly skilled mentor at the worksite and occupation specific Apprenticeship Related Classroom Instruction.  DOLI looks forward to continue working with our partners to ensure that Virginia citizens have the skills demanded for today’s jobs and the jobs of the future.”

“The credentials and jobs at the heart of this announcement represent the pathway to Virginia's new middle class," said Glenn DuBois, Chancellor of Virginia's Community Colleges. “These grant resources will help us connect more people to what can be life-changing apprenticeship opportunities -- something that we are striving to do more of everyday across Virginia.”

The American Apprenticeship Grants will help Virginia, and other recipients nationwide, to collectively train and hire more than 34,000 new apprentices in high-growth and high-tech industries as diverse as health care, IT, and advanced manufacturing while scaling up proven programs in construction, transportation, and energy over the next five years.

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Governor McAuliffe Orders Evaluation of Major Information Technology and Service Contracts in State Government

Norman Lacy, aged 65, founding Executive Director of the Information Technology Contract & Recruitment Association (ITCRA) in 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Governor Terry McAuliffe issued Executive Directive Number Two, directing the Virginia Secretaries of Administration, Finance and Technology to deliver a report on the Commonwealth’s practices with respect to information technology and service contracting and to make recommendations on how to spend taxpayer dollars with greater efficiency and accountability.

As the directive states, the Governor requested the review out of his concern that Virginia government is “inappropriately dependent on expensive contract labor when traditionally-appointed state employees can perform at a higher level at a lower cost.” In addition to requesting a report on the state of the Commonwealth’s IT workforce and contracts, the Governor directed the Secretaries to evaluate the impacts of insourcing vs. outsourcing contract services and to study the extent to which contracting companies may misclassify workers as “independent contractors” rather than employees, a distinction that often results in employees being denied benefits like health coverage. 

The Governor’s full Executive Director is below:

Executive Directive 2 (2014)

ASSESSING AND EVALUATING MAJOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICE CONTRACTS

One of the primary responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia is to ensure that every taxpayer dollar is being spent as efficiently and transparently as possible.  In the face of a revenue shortfall and potential budget cuts, the urgency to increase accountability and find cost savings in Virginia government is even greater. Virginia taxpayers spend millions of dollars annually on contractors for information technology (IT) and other services outside of our state workforce.  I am concerned that state government is inappropriately dependent on expensive contract labor when traditionally-appointed state employees can perform at a higher level at a lower cost. 

In an effort to ensure that procurement decisions in state government are based on sound fiscal analysis, I am directing my Secretaries of Administration, Finance and Technology to report to me by October 1, 2014 on the following:

1.      An assessment of all IT full time equivalents (FTE) in state government, both contractors and state employees.   From 2012 to 2013, Virginia state government saw an increase in more than 100 contingency IT contractors, costing the state an additional $17 million.  This IT contingency labor program is outside the scope of larger IT contracts and projects (i.e. Northrop Grumman).  A thorough review of the amount of IT personnel in each agency is needed to fully understand the issue.

2.     A thorough evaluation of (1) all existing major IT projects and contracts, (2) the Master Services Agreement, and (3) other major service contracts not IT related[1].  The evaluation of these contracts would include:

a.      Contract term

b.     Procurement method and history

c.      Original amount negotiated in contract versus actual amount currently being paid

d.     Number of change orders or amendments to contract

e.      Number of employees working on project (state employees and contractors)

f.      Performance standards and benchmarks

3.     A cost-benefit analysis of insourcing versus outsourcing these contracted jobs.  This analysis would consider the costs and benefits of hiring full-time state employees instead of using contractors.  The cost of health insurance and other employee benefits for these individuals should be considered in this analysis.   

4.     Worker classifications of all contracted employees.  Worker misclassification occurs when an employer improperly classifies a worker as an “independent contractor” instead of an employee of that organization.  A 2012 report of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) recommended that if misclassified employees are working on state contracts, the employer should be issued a stop work order and possibly be prohibited from bidding on future contracts for a specified period of time.   

5.     A review of the process and protocol for approving major contracts, amendments to contracts or change orders.   Currently, there is no clear singular protocol for approving contracts or amendments of major contracts.  A thorough review is needed to streamline the process and to make recommendations on how to proceed more efficiently with the appropriate oversight. 

6.      Recommendations for cost savings and efficiencies through this review. 

                                                                                                                                                                                    _____________________________________________

                                                                  Terence R. McAuliffe, Governor

Attest:

_____________________________________________

Levar M. Stoney, Secretary of the Commonwealth