Weekly Newsletter
June 1, 2017
In the News  
Chesterfield and Hopewell Named 2017 Playful Cities USA

Another Biggest-Ever Container Ship Heads Toward the Port of Virginia

Virginia Colleges Receive $5M to Support Engineering Industries 
Partner Spotlight
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the largest health insurer in Virginia and has a long history of serving Virginia families and businesses for more than 80 years, from large and small employers to Medicaid managed care. With locally based employees in several locations across the state, their company delivers quality products and services that give their nearly 3 million Virginians access to the care they need. They are determined to help drive change and improve access to healthcare by focusing on their strong knowledge of local markets to create practical solutions. Anthem is leading the way to make healthcare personal, accessible and affordable

 
How to Prepare for the Upcoming Manufacturing Renaissance

By Barbara Nelles | BedTimes Magazine | Full Article   

In these post-recessionary times, with many hoping to see a U.S. manufacturing rebirth, the moment is right to retool recruitment and retention practices for your factory floor.
  1. How do you attract mechanically inclined millennials to your machine maintenance crew?
  2. What is the best way to replace retiring equipment operators and technicians whose skills your company has depended on for years?
  3. How do you make certain rank-and-file workers are motivated to stick around for the long term and that their skills remain up to date?
Industry leaders have come to find that in an improving economy, poaching experienced staff from the competition isn't sustainable. For employers to prosper and grow, its talent pool must grow, too.
Fed Survey Finds Tight Labor Markets, Rising Wages
 
Associated Press | Richmond Times-Dispatch | Full Article  

The economy kept growing in April through late May, with more regions citing worker shortages across a widening range of occupations, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

Businesses reported that labor markets continued to tighten, and many firms were offering higher wages where shortages were most severe. One firm in the district of the Fed's Chicago regional bank said that it had been able to attract better applicants and improve the retention of unskilled workers by raising wages 10 percent.