Training Futures, a program of Northern Virginia Family Service, commemorated two decades of brightening futures through talent development and raised more than $27,000 at its 20th anniversary celebration event.
(Oakton, Va. – April 24, 2017) For 20 years, Northern Virginia Family Service’s Training Futures program has provided workforce training to help prepare its trainees for corporate environments and career-track positions. More than 2,100 graduates have completed the program and obtained new positions that have helped them increase their wages by 76 percent.
But the impact of Training Futures has gone much deeper than that. More than 200 corporate and community partners, Training Futures alumni and staff gathered at LMI’s office in Tysons Corner on April 4 to celebrate the successes Training Futures graduates have achieved over the program’s two-decade operation.
Not only have graduates been able to increase their wages in the immediate term, they’ve been able to achieve longer-term success through promotions, better work-life balance and continued education. To achieve this success, the program empowers its graduates by helping visualize a plan for their future, while simultaneously equipping them with both the hard and soft skills, such as Microsoft Office certification and corporate communications training, necessary to succeed in a professional environment.
Training Futures also helps graduates overcome personal obstacles, such as a lack of confidence in themselves, that can inhibit their ability to plan for a brighter future.
Business Champion honoree Julie Nielsen of Nolij Consulting and Stephanie Berkowitz, president & CEO of NVFS, addressed the impact this program has had not only on the lives of graduates, but in building an exceptional talent pool for the Northern Virginia workforce and strengthening the overall community.
“Zero — that’s the number of Training Futures graduates I’ve encountered who had anything other than a thoughtful, humble, and ‘I’ll do anything’ attitude,” Nielsen shared. “Training Futures graduates are driven to succeed and put their hearts into their work, which I’ve seen first-hand through the interns we hosted and the graduates we hired. Northern Virginia could use more talent pipelines like Training Futures to expand the workforce.”
Attendees and donors raised more than $27,000 to help ensure the program is able to train and develop even more graduates in the decades ahead. The event was a success in large part as well to the support of presenting sponsors Booz Allen Hamilton and LMI, community partner sponsors Hogan Lovells and TD Bank, and advocate sponsor Octagon. Supporters and partners such as these have been critical to the success of NVFS’ Training Futures program, including more than 84,000 internship hours for on-the-job training for trainees and employment opportunities for graduates.
For more information, visit nvfs.org/trainingfutures.