Background on the President’s Visit to Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria Campus

President Obama will visit the Northern Virginia Community College Alexandria Campus (NVCC) to announce a series of initiatives critical to improving the manufacturing workforce.  The initiatives are part of a major expansion of Skills for America’s Future, an industry led initiative the Administration launched last year to improve industry partnerships with community colleges and build a nation-wide network that maximizes workforce development strategies, job training programs, and job placements. 

At NVCC President Obama will be led on a tour of the campus’ Automotive Training Program by program head Ernest Packer, who joined the NVCC faculty in 2007 after 29 years of work at the Ford Motor Company.  On the tour the President will see a General Motors Automotive Services classroom and a lab with Ford hybrid vehicles.  NVCC’s certified automotive services program is a gold-standard credentialing program and one that the Manufacturing Institute and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) used as a model for the new credentialing program being announced at the event.  Following the tour, President Obama will deliver remarks to an audience of 100 people including members of the Skills for America’s Future board, representatives from NAM, leaders from education, philanthropy and the business community and NVCC students and faculty. 

Expected Attendees Include
Jay Timmons, President and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers
Emily DeRocco, President, Manufacturing Institute
Penny Pritzker, Chairman and CEO, Pritzker Realty Group
Karen Elzey, Director, Skills for America’s Future
Nick Pinchuk, Chairman and CEO, Snap-on Incorporated
Ellen Alberding, President, Joyce Foundation
Collie Hutter, COO, Click Bond
Donald McCabe, SVP, Corning
Tony Raimando, Co-CEO, Behlen Mfg. Co.
Dyke Messinger, CEO, Power Curbers