(Danville, VA) – Virginia Senator Tim Kaine was in Danville Monday for a tour of facilities at both Danville Community College and George Washington High School’s job training facilities.
The Senator started at DCC touring the renovated to the Charles R. Hawkins Engineering and Industrial Technologies (EIT) Building which has seen more than $7 million invested in updated facilities and new machinery to get students career focused and into the private sector in as early as two years.
Senator Kaine spoke of the Higher Education Act and his current role in revamping that bill to include projects in the school systems across the nation to turn the focus back to career education as well as collegiate studies. Facilities like those toured gave perspective into how focused the Danville area is on being a hub for machinists and potentially attracting industries and workforce to the area.
After touring DCC Kaine then moved to George Washington High School to meet with students and instructors as well as school leaders about how early the process of career development is starting which is as early as 6th grade. He also toured the new machining facilities at GW which offers Co-op classes with DCC to help students get a jump on their machining future with college credit allowing students to graduate and already be second year machining students.
Dr. Stanley Jones also spoke about the ability that these programs have for students to both enter the workforce prepared but also to be certified and employed directly out of the program with much less student debt which will lead to continued local economic growth in the region.
