Before Anthony Price decided he wanted to get his commercial driver’s license, he worked odd jobs around Covington, Va. And while he managed to get by, there was always a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. “What happens when this one ends?” “Is this…
There’s a lot of Virginia workforce and career news. We’re starting a monthly series where we pull together highlights of what’s happening across Virginia. This month is particularly busy thanks to an active General Assembly session. Big hiring and layoff announcements On the positive side, GRIMM,…
Choosing a career can be hard. There are many factors to take into account. How much will it cost? How much money will I make? Is it the right fit? Am I passionate about this? These tools have made it simple to narrow down what field…
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try (and try and try) again. Julian, a student in the FastForward Certified Nursing Aide program, did just that. After graduating high school, Julian had dreams of working in healthcare, but growing up in a small town in West…
For 14 years, Greg Seals spent his days in the coal mines. He worked hard, day in and day out, to support his wife and four children. But when Blackjewel, a coal mining company with operations around the country, filed for bankruptcy and ultimately laid off…
Are you an analytic thinker who likes solving problems and troubleshooting hardware or network issues? Do you speak techie? But then are you able to pivot and speak non-techie to technologically-challenged parents? If any of these questions resonate with you, the IT industry may be a…
A new year means new goals for 2020. While exciting, goal setting often brings feelings of anxiety. We asked our experts. FastForward Career Coaches across Virginia share their top tips to set – and achieve – career and training goals. Start small. Going back to school…
When Matt Newman stands in front of a room of high schoolers to talk about life after high school, he likes to share the story behind his Mountain Empire Community College ID cards. That’s right. Cards, plural. The path to where he is today, a FastForward…
Up until a few years ago, Allen Miller’s only experience with asphalt was driving and shooting hoops on it. He didn’t think about the process behind combining a semi-solid form of petroleum with aggregate particles through a highly controlled mixing process. He didn’t pay attention to…
Moving into a new year is like hitting the reset button. It’s a nice time to pause and reflect on the previous year and see what worked and what didn’t. And for some of us, what didn’t work may be our careers. While our primary goal…