development programs ensure companies have access to a highly skilled workforce. Flagship institutions like Virginia Commonwealth University (including the Medicines for All Institute), the University of Virginia (with the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology), and Virginia Tech (and its Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in nearby Roanoke, associated with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine) are nationally recognized for educating engineers and scientists while advancing medical research. Pharmaceutical manufacturing programs at Virginia community colleges give students handson experience in complex drug production with an assist from the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, while incubators like CvilleBioHub in Charlottesville, George Mason University’s Innovation Park, and the Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium (which leverages the presence of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News) help drive life sciences research, development, and innovation in the Commonwealth. The University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University, and Virginia Tech are part of a $96 million research conglomerate aimed at fostering collaboration in biotech, life sciences, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot attributed his company’s decision to build in Virginia to the education system here when he said, “We are in Virginia because we can find talented scientists, we can find talented engineers, and some of the best universities in the country that we can recruit people from.” At the end of the day, every business decision relies on access to talent, which is why we have made talent a primary focus of our economic development strategy. We are positioning Virginia as America’s top state for talent. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, ranked the No. 1 customized workforce training program in the United States by Business Facilities the last three years and by Area Development in 2025, is a key point in Virginia’s workforce pitch to prospective companies. 52 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 12
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx