‘This Is the Model’: A $40 Million Program for Workforce Training in Virginia

Filed 1w ago · Via Daily Yonder · The Buffoon Desk

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Alexander Nakarada · creatorchords.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Rjcastillo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Virginia's FastForward program subsidizes short-term job training, with students paying a third of costs and the state covering the rest in installments tied to completion and certification.

Funding has grown from $4 million to $40 million over ten years, and nearly 40% of enrollees attend one of the state's 14 rural community colleges. The program reports an average wage bump of $14,869 after completion, though only 72% of students who finish coursework actually earn the credential, partly due to tracking gaps with third-party exam providers.

Officials contrast FastForward favorably with the newer federal Workforce Pell, citing FastForward's shorter length requirements and lighter paperwork burden, and say they have no plans to let the federal program overshadow the state one.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Every figure in this story about a state program's success comes from people whose job depends on that program's success, which is not evidence of fraud but is a reason to ask someone else. A 72% completion rate wrapped in the phrase 'massive economic development game changer' deserves at least one skeptical eyebrow from an outlet that isn't cashing the checks.

Source: Read the original at Daily Yonder → Scored: Simple Joy · Alexander Nakarada · CC BY 4.0

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