BRCC / Fort Defiance High School Pilot Workforce Program

Sheba Lane is a Career Coach at Fort Defance High School, meeting one-on-one with students and challenging them to think beyond high school to position themselves for a positive and productive future. Working in the public high schools in BRCC’s service region, Career Coaches let students know which industries are growing, what jobs are being ofered and which BRCC programs can provide the training they will need to succeed.

In April 2022, Sheba, in partnership with BRCC Workforce and Continuing Education (WCE), BRCC Career Services, and Fort Defance High School, submited a Strategic Innovation Grant application to the BRCC Educational Foundation. Te grant was fully funded at $15,000, and a year later, the pilot program is being celebrated as a success.

Te frst-of-its-kind program created a pathway for a cohort of high school seniors to participate in short-term education and training courses at BRCC during the 2022-23 academic year. Te grant addresses funding barriers for high school students wishing to participate in WCE courses. Funding has been traditionally available for high school graduates to complete WCE courses, but the same funding is not available for students currently atending high school. Te training courses can cost thousands of dollars; FastForward (a grant-funded initiative through Virginia’s Community Colleges) funds 2/3 of the cost of these courses, and the BRCC Educational Foundation grant covers most of the remaining cost, leaving students to pay just $150.

Te two most common career interests among Fort Defance seniors fall into the medical feld and industry/logistics/manufacturing cluster. Fort Defance students in the frst cohort are participating in Certifed Nursing Aide, Phlebotomy, Precision Machining, and Welding courses (to name a few). Tis type of career preparation greatly increases marketability for students entering the workforce directly afer high school, while helping them to expand their career options. It also supports local employers in need of skilled workers.

With the success of the pilot program comes hopes of expansion within Augusta County schools and across BRCC’s service area, as well as opportunities for local industry and employers to invest in this innovative program. It is also hoped that this success will inspire Virginia legislators to support HIRE Virginia, a request for funding from Virginia’s Community Colleges. HIRE Virginia, if funded, would make workforce courses at community colleges statewide available (and most importantly, afordable) for high school seniors.

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