TCC convenes first-ever Jobs Summit Aug. 6

A special gathering of CEOs, industry leaders and job creators from a variety of business sectors will be held Aug. 6 in downtown Norfolk. Let’s Grow: The 2013 Jobs Summit, presented by Tidewater Community College, is designed to be a conversation focused on the job-growth outlook for the area. The event will culminate in a luncheon featuring the major candidates for governor of Virginia, who will share their thoughts and plans for the future.

This first-of-its-kind event aims to answer two questions that are key to the area’s economic future: Where will jobs come from in the next five years, and how do we best prepare the workforce? The participants are a select group representing Hampton Roads’ current and future business sectors.

“As the area’s largest provider of Workforce Solutions services and programs, TCC is uniquely positioned to jumpstart this conversation,” President Edna V. Baehre-Kolovani said. She added that she expects the outcome to be a list of concrete action items that will help create good jobs “with salaries sufficient to raise the region’s standard of living and sustain a family.”

The summit will be facilitated by E. Dana Dickens III, retired president of the Hampton Roads Partnership and former mayor of Suffolk. In advance of the summit, businesses and workers alike are invited to help shape the summit discussion by completing a survey about the current hiring climate and perceptions of what the future may hold.

The event will culminate in a luncheon at which Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates, Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, will outline their jobs platforms for the Commonwealth. “They will also hear about some of the key outcomes from the morning’s summit,” Baehre-Kolovani said. “I am very pleased that both candidates will be there. Clearly, this is an important issue for all of us.”

The luncheon starts at noon at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased here.

“Let’s Grow: The 2013 Jobs Summit,” part of TCC’s 45th anniversary observance, is presented in partnership with Inside Business Magazine. For information, contact Marian Anderfuren at TCC, 757-822-1940 or manderfuren@tcc.edu.