For Immediate Release:
August 2, 2019
Primary Media Contact:
Sally Voth
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
Phone: 540-868-7134
Laurel Ridge will be expanding its electrical and HVAC programming thanks to $182,466 in FastForward Workforce Training Grant money. The programs are among the short-term training courses for which eligible students will only have to pay one-third of the program cost.
Lord Fairfax is one of the 23 community colleges that make up the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). The VCCS is directing $2.75 million in Fastforward funding to community colleges to create new high-demand training programs and expand existing ones.
“These grants reaffirm our commitment to helping Virginians start, or re-start their careers” says Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges.
The chancellor adds that more than 16,000 credentials have been awarded around Virginia since the FastForward program’s launch three years ago. Program graduates typically boost their take-home pay 25-50 percent in weeks, rather than years.
“In Laurel Ridge’s case, electrical and HVAC training were selected because of the high demand for workers trained in those fields,” says Workforce Solutions Director of Marketing Guy Curtis. “This funding will help us meet that demand and allow for additional expansion and equipment at our training sites.”
FastForward grant funding was a top VCCS priority during the past legislative session, Curtis notes.
“Legislators agreed to increase funding for Virginia’s Workforce Credential Grants, which support VCCS’s FastForward workforce training programs,” he says. “The additional funding will boost FastForward grant funding in the next budget year to $13.5 million – a 42-percent increase.”
Laurel Ridge Workforce Solutions offers the following FastForward-eligible programs:
- CompTIA IT Certifications
- Heavy Equipment Operator
- Commercial Truck Driver
- Nursing Aide
- Medical Assistant Full Program
- Medication Aide
- Medical Scribe
- Patient Service Representative
- Phlebotomy Technician
- Manufacturing Technician
- Construction Project Management
- Electrical Apprenticeship
- HVAC Apprenticeship
- Plumbing Apprenticeship
Find out more at www.lfccworkforce.com/fastforward, or call (540) 868-7021.
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Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With four locations — Middletown, Warrenton, Luray-Page County and most recently, Vint Hill— the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines, in addition to providing access to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs offered on site by a four-year institution. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College (Laurel Ridge) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College. Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.
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