The Virginia Department of Transportation has reached a $236 million agreement with a private company that will allow the state to complete the final stretch of Route 288 faster, cheaper and without any tolls.

The regions labor pool is tightening. As the need for qualified workers continues to grow, businesses will need to look toward alternative sources of manpower to meet their job requirements. The Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) has established a strong, comprehensive program which addresses the needs of the business community.

The Greater Richmond Employment Assistance Team (GREAT) is a community effort of citizens, organizations, and businesses dedicated to providing welfare recipients and their families the opportunity to begin their journey to self-sufficiency through skills assessment, job readiness training and employment. The GREAT program not only helps individuals but aslo benefits the business community by providing an available labor pool that has received skills assessment, training and follow-up.

The Workforce/ Education Committee of the Chesterfield Business Council has adopted a program entitled Making Academics Count. This program strives to increase the number of employers asking job applicants for school transcripts and attendance records.

Chesterfield Technical Center has recently been established as a Cisco Regional Training Academy for the Central Virginia region. Cisco chose Chesterfield Technical Center as its only high school regional academy. Regional academies are responsible for training teachers who in turn teach students throughout business and industry. This is a two-year program in which students learn to design local and wide-area networks in a lab setting.