Recently, we visited with Cheryl Rose of the state’s apprenticeship program and she informed us of their program in identifying people interested in committing to new skilled trades and connecting them to sponsoring organizations. The program almost seems too good to be true, but it is.

Individual apathy by job seekers and awareness of the program and its benefits appear to be holding this program back from providing an impactful and very much needed hope to struggling job seekers in this economy.

If you have lost a job, looking for a job transition or a young person beginning your career, contact Cheryl at cheryl.rose@doli.virginia.gov or visit their site www.doli.virginia.gov.

If you have not experienced Google Maps “Street View”, then you have missed out a remarkable piece of technology that allows you to virtually visit any larger metro region in the U.S. It has great applications for job seekers, business site selectors and other exposure you are trying to generate for your region.

It’s the equivalent to a offline print publication highlighting your community or acknowledging it in a special ranking (Business Week and ZoomProspector.com or Richard Florida’s rankings and Kiplingers).

Below is a unique video that may not be too far off in terms of how the technology is getting very close to the real thing.

We all need help some time. It does not matter what profession we are. You must humble yourself to be exalted.

Mentorship is very important in the lives of emerging young professionals. It’s sometimes hard to identify the right person to mentor you and to do it in a systematic approach.

Mike Garrison of the Garrison group offers a unique service – called sales coaching – to assist you in where you want to be. Whether you own a business, VP of sales, or striving for that next promotion, Mike and his staff can help. Check out the video and give him a call.

The Virginia Community College System scored a slam dunk with an assist from Chmura Economics on creating the best online platform for assisting job seekers called VaWizard.org.

In the above video, VCCS chancellor Glenn DuBois tells of how the project came about while he was planning a trip on Expedia. That online experience inspired him to ask Congress for $2 million to create the site.

The features of the site include current data from a variety of sources using Chmura’s Jobs EQ to determine the supply and demand of jobs in industry codes in a region. There is a questionnaire for users to take to determine what career fields may interest them. Those results turn up average salaries, companies who hire for those jobs, and links to Indeed.com of jobs already posted.

Additionally, if the job requires training, there are links to curriculums with cost of acquiring the education and financial aid packages.

If you are unemployed, underemployed, looking for a new job or career or know someone who is, then you must spend some time on this site to get your strategy in order so then you can go and implement the strategy by connecting with other people.

The Richard Florida-inspired Roanoke Creative Community Leadership Project was held on March 30 and 31 at 22 Kirk Ave in downtown Roanoke. Thirty Creative Connectors work tirelessly over two days creating initiatives around the 4 Ts of economic development – talent, tolerance, territory assets and technology. The Sunday Roanoke Times article written by Duncan Adams offered this account.  

• CNR 2030: Growing a Carbon-Neutral Region – The plan is to partner with others in the region to engage, educate and employ the community toward the achievement of sustainable living. The initiative will position the region as a proving ground for sustainable technologies.  As progression toward the goal occurs, the region will attract new businesses, generate new jobs and become a model community for sustainable living. The ultimate goal is for the region to be carbon neutral by 2030. For more information and to participate, contact Mike Dame mdame68@yahoo.com.
  
• 81 Reasons to Connect – The purpose of this initiative is to connect the Roanokeand Blacksburg MSAs through three key areas – economic development, attraction and retention of creative professionals, and leveraging its natural resources. This effort will be seeking feedback from at least 40 identified regional organizations and the general public. The group is also planning a regional economic summit in 2009. For more information and to participate, contact Krisha Chachra kchachra@aol.com.
  
• The Spirit of Tolerance and Art in the Region – STARis a movement towards inclusion. This is an umbrella initiative building upon existing events and organizations, as well as, creating new initiatives such as BridgeWalk, the Open Doors Series, and the STAR event. The STAR movement will create a website and an online calendar. The aim is to have at least one event per month, ongoing with a kick-off event as LOCAL COLORS in May. For more information and to participate, contact Sharon Rapoport at sharon@thefarm.com.
   
• YEA! Youth Experiencing the Amenities – The mission of YEA! is to grow Roanoke’s Creative Class, by encouraging youth to work, play, live and stay in the region. Many of the region’s youth lack significant opportunity to experience the region’s amenities and economic opportunities. Plus, a new, expanding audience for cultural and recreational amenities is needed. To this end, volunteerism will be promoted by working with local arts and entertainment amenities to offer incentives by donating excess capacity at their events and venues. For more information and to participate, contact Gordie Zeigler at gz.1868@gmail.com.

Now we need your help. Please contact each of these group leaders and get involved. They will be meeting weekly over the next year to carry out these initiatives. Your assistance is appreciated.