CHARLOTTSVILLE, VA., -- Through Growing Opportunity (GO), the city of Charlottsville added 1,320 new jobs from 2010 to 2013. According to the city’s 2014 annual update on workforce development, GO presented a dynamic shift from the previous decade’s jobs declines.
According to the Daily Progress, the amount of county residents that are calling to inquire about the city’s program demonstrates that the need is there. Along with discussing other potential collaborations between the city and county, Albemarle County officials directed staff to study what resources it would take to help expand Charlottsville’s coveted GO program.
It’s another program that really demonstrates how there’s a blurred line between the jurisdictions that most residents don’t pay attention to. They don’t know that a city program is not available to them because they’re a county resident,” said Brad Sheffield, a district supervisor.
GO is a series of action steps that focused on active recruitment through new and existing businesses along with aligning relevant training programs. The goals address barriers like basic literacy, workplace readiness, ex-offender hiring policies, housing opportunities, childcare and more with actions such as educational pilots and training.
For example, to address transportation barriers to employment, GO partnered with Charlottsville Area Transit and nine workforce development agencies to refer clients to a ridership program that provides three months of fully subsidized bus passes. About 50 percent of the pilot programs passes played a role in the employment process, so the city continued the program.
Chris Engel, director of economic development for the city, said in an email after the meeting that program officials will need to find out how they will expand the program.
“In concept, we are open to county participation in our GO programs, but we need to determine specifically what that looks like and how to fairly share the costs,” Engel said.
The next step is to discuss those numbers.
Read the original story on the Daily Progress website.
Learn more about GO’s goals by reviewing its 2014 update on Issuu.com.
