Hire Education Conference focuses on the future of workforce and career training

With an eye on the future of workforce development, the 2024 VCCS Hire Education Conference brought together almost 300 educators, business and government leaders. The annual conference is a professional development gathering of workforce leaders and practitioners to explore and discuss workforce needs of businesses and individuals in the Commonwealth and share best practices to address these needs. For more than two decades, Hire Education has helped position Virginia as a national model for training and skill-building.

Fostering partnerships with businesses and industries enables our colleges to ensure programs and initiatives are aligned with the needs of the workforce, and equipping students with the skills & knowledge to thrive in today's job market.

Built on the theme Generating Opportunities: Powering Talent & Partnerships, the event offered opportunities for networking and sharing, with a focus on collaboration and innovation.

Several conference speakers urged participants to embrace Artificial Intelligence for instruction, research and administration. Microsoft engineering technical program manager Zach Oxendine, who counts a community college degree among his accomplishments, called AI the inevitable wave of the future that will shape our society and industrial landscape.

"Don't think 'less jobs', think of jobs that you've never ever considered before," said Oxendine, adding "Don't wait around to be asked, let's get in the forefront of the movement."

Also at the Hire Education Conference: the annual awards event celebrating the people and organizations that have gone above and beyond to serve our students. You can read about the winners here.

You can view and download photos from this year's Hire Education Conference here.

Hire Education Conference organizers are grateful for sponsorships from the Lumina Foundation's REACH Collaborative and Transfr VR Training.