Constance Peay has been working with students at Rappahannock Community College for almost 10 years. Currently a FastForward Career Coach, Peay helps students connect the dots between their habits and behaviors and how that can apply to finding a career that’s right for them. Peay enjoys…
Chuck Rodgers means it when he says that he’d hire someone with an industry recognized credential over someone without a credential. Rodgers is operational superintendent at S.W. Rodgers, a site development contractor in Northern Virginia. Rodgers needs a workforce that’s serious, focused, and safety-conscious because operating…
Sometimes, it’s all about who you know. You can have the best resume, the highest grades and all the right skills for the job – but once in a while, what you really need is to know is the person on the other end of the…
With 15 years of career coaching experience, it’s safe to say that Lisha Wolfe knows what she’s talking about. Wolfe is a FastForward Career Coach at Paul D. Camp Community College. She comes to work every day with a purpose: to help people figure out their…
If you’re on the hunt for a new job, you may notice a handful of “soft skills” alongside specific technical skills listed in a job description. These soft skills, including work ethic, interpersonal skills and accountability, can be just as important to an employer as the…
There’s a lot at stake when it comes to hiring a new employee. Will they have the skills required to do the job? What’s their workplace attitude like? Will they reliably show up to work? These are the realities businesses across the country are facing when…
Luke has always been something of a ranch hand. Growing up in Southside Virginia, he’s worked the fields and farms that crisscross this rural landscape and become a bit of an agricultural expert in the process. There hasn’t been much else to do. Job opportunities have…
People make mistakes. Opioid abuse, drug addiction and past criminal decisions derail millions of American lives. It’s not easy, but lives can be repaired. Through job training, former felons or addicts may have the opportunity to right the wrongs of bad decisions by starting over in…
You may already know FastForward is one of the quickest, most affordable training programs in Virginia, but did you know that with FastForward training, you may also see an increase in take-home pay? According to early data from Virginia’s New Economy Workforce Credentials Grants, workers who…
Before Micah enrolled in a welding training program at Tidewater Community College, he was working a job at a septic company. Only six months on the job, he decided to change his career path and get trained in something different. “I thought that welding would be…