With a $10,000 donation, Mid-Atlantic Broadband (MBC) intends to increase the community’s access to career training and workforce readiness.
This week, the company announced it would provide the Patrick Henry Community College Foundation with a one-time $10,000 donation. The college will use the funds to create customized workforce training programs that can meet the community’s needs for training.
“Local employers need a well-trained workforce; area citizens need training that can help them qualify for jobs. So, we constantly work with employers to create custom training opportunities to meet these needs,” said Rhonda Hodges PHCC’s Vice President of Workforce, Economic, and Community Development. “The donation will really go a long way in helping us develop these turn-key, customized workforce programs.”
PHCC plans to utilize this funding to increase its capacity to customize training programs for new, expanding, and existing industries in partnership with the Martinsville Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC).
College and community officials describe these custom training opportunities as a critical piece to economic development in the region.
“The Martinsville-Henry County EDC is excited for Mid-Atlantic Broadband’s (MBC) generous support of Patrick Henry Community Colleges’ (PHCC) workforce training initiatives. PHCC’s customized training programs and MBC’s robust fiber network are instrumental for existing and new companies alike and are key tools employed by EDC’s recruiting efforts on behalf of our community,” said Larry Ryder, chairman of the EDC’s Board of Directors.
In a letter to the college, Tad Deriso, MBC president and CEO, described PHCC as the region’s primary provider of workforce training and said he was grateful for the college’s “leadership in higher education and workforce development for our region.”
“We look forward to continued collaboration and hearing about the impact of the MBC’s investment in PHCC,” said Deriso.
