September is National Workforce Development Month which highlights the important role that Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays in the workforce development ecosystem.

Bedford County Office of Economic Development works diligently to partner with local businesses, Bedford County Public Schools, and Central Virginia Community College to connect our workforce with training programs and career exploration opportunities. Our Bedford ONE program is in its 10th year this year and since its inception, more than 4,000 high school students have toured area companies through these partnerships.

Programs such as CVCC’s XLR8 STEM Academy, and The Future Focus Foundation are important to our region’s future workforce. The STEM Academy’s curriculum is geared toward cultivating student interested in engineering, mechatronics, and biomedical sciences through project-based learning to prepare them for real-world challenges.

Bedford County Public Schools offers a Career Internship Program for high school seniors. Students receive workplace readiness instruction through an instructor and participate in a three-hour per week internship at a local business. For more information about the Internship program, contact Bedford County Public Schools or visit the website.

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According to the CTE Policy Watch website, a bi-partisan resolution introduced by United States Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and CTE Caucus Co-Chairs Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Todd Young (R-IN), recognizes the growing skills gap and supports the promotion of federal workforce development investments to ensure our economic competitiveness in the 21st century economy. Read the full resolution here.