J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JSRCC) manages a complex set of partnerships to promote and expand apprenticeship opportunities in Virginia through an American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) grant.  John Tyler Community College, Danville Community College (DCC) and Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) partner with JSRCC to lead the Apprentice Virginia: Collaborative Workforce Solutions in Information Technology (ApprenticeVA) project, which is the primary recipient of AAI grant funds.[1] Together, the four colleges utilize their reach and partnerships to expand registered apprenticeships in the advanced manufacturing and IT sectors and transition participants from pre-apprenticeship to apprenticeship. When ApprenticeVA designed its AAI grant plan, IT was an emerging, high-demand field in the region that had not previously adopted the apprenticeship model.  Additionally, several companies, including HP and Microsoft, opened large data centers in the region and required a skilled workforce to fill their open jobs. Based on these factors, ApprenticeVA saw the IT industry as a prime target for apprenticeship and accordingly focused its AAI grant efforts on both the advanced manufacturing and IT industries.