NVFS Celebrates Training Futures 10th Anniversary, 1,000th Trainee

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(Oakton, Va., June 21, 2006)  Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Training Futures program, which brings together low-income Northern Virginia adults who yearn for a better life with area businesses that need technology-savvy administrative staff. This month, Training Futures also enrolled its 1,000th trainee. To mark these two milestones, the program is releasing survey results at its anniversary celebration that show the tremendous impact of this program on its graduates and the entire community.

“The impressive figures revealed in this survey are a result of hard work on the part of Training Futures trainees as well as the program’s partnerships with community supporters,” said NVFS President and CEO Mary Agee. “But the numbers tell a bigger story about how the children of our graduates are positively impacted and how businesses in our community benefit from a skilled workforce.”

Thanks to a generous grant from Capital One, Training Futures conducted an extensive survey of graduates in partnership with a third-party evaluation service, the Innovation Network. Results of the survey will be announced at the Training Futures 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, June 27.

Among the findings of the survey:

  • 89 percent of Training Futures graduates are currently employed in new careers-a success rate that ranks Training Futures as one of the top-performing workforce development programs serving low-income adults across all of America.
  • Average annual earnings of Training Futures graduates increased by 91% over their earnings from before Training Futures. Collectively, successful graduates among the program’s first 1,000 trainees will earn $13.5 million more for their families in the coming year than they would have earned if they remained stuck in previous jobs.
  • More kids benefit than adults: Of 1,000 trainees enrolled, 1,500 children directly benefit from Training Futures when a parent acquires health insurance, gets paid vacations to spend more time with children, gains access to employer child care subsidies, improves housing situations and increases savings.
  • The rate of home ownership increased by 82 percent.
The award-winning Training Futures program has successfully trained 1,000 entry-level administrative staff for professional services firms, law firms, governmental agencies, professional associations and small businesses. The program provides its graduates with a comprehensive skill set, including proficiencies in all Microsoft Office Suite products, keyboarding, customer service, filing, bookkeeping and business communication. Trainees consistently achieve 90 percent graduation rates, 85-90 percent employment success and $5,000/year immediate wage gains that place this program among the top-performing workforce development programs in the country.