October 13, 2009
Workforce Development Center Announced
Charlottesville, VA - Piedmont Virginia Community College today announced that the former Charlottesville-Albemarle Visitors Center is now the property of the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of the PVCC campus, and it will be renovated into a Workforce Development Center. It is located at the corner of Route 20 and College Drive on the edge of PVCC's campus.
The Center will allow PVCC's Workforce Services Division to expand its offerings in software applications, information technology (IT) and IT security, and other courses for business; contract training designed for specific employers; noncredit programs in health care, viticulture and enology; and other workforce readiness programs. PVCC expects to open the building to the public in March 2010.
Additional details about the property and planned Center are noted below. Information about PVCC's Division of Workforce Services is available at on PVCC's Web site.
- The property, including six acres and the building are valued at $4 million.
- The building has 9,000 square feet of finished space. It includes five teaching spaces, a conference room and offices.
- The Workforce Services Division serves more than 3,000 students annually in its open enrollment courses and another 1,500 through contract training it provides to some 50 area employers.
- Lack of space has hampered the division's efforts to meet the needs of the business community and of individuals seeking skills to compete for jobs in the current economy. The need has become particularly acute with the influx of students directed to PVCC from the Virginia Workforce Center-Charlottesville.
- PVCC gained access to the building in early October and has begun improvements including parking lot lighting and emergency call boxes, a ramp at the main entrance for handicapped accessibility, installation of IT infrastructure, general cleaning and painting and replacement carpeting.
