Career Services

Brightpoint Career Services assists current students in understanding their career-related interests and majors that would be a good fit. They can guide current students through career exploration, conducting a job or internship search, creating résumés and cover letters, building an online presence, interview preparation and career readiness, and networking/informational interviews. For individual guidance or to find out more about Brightpoint Career Services schedule a career advising appointment by using EAB Navigate when you are in the myBrightpoint portal or contact the Help Hub.

Brightpoint Career Services also supports alumni, community members, and current students by building relationships with quality employers and connecting them to Brightpoint talent through on-campus recruiting events, career fairs, and job and internship posts on Brightpoint’s online job board. Brightpoint Career Services also offers career-related workshops throughout the year that are open to alumni and the community.

Internships

Internships provide the opportunity for experiential learning in the workplace. Opportunities can be explored by current students by talking with the Career and Internship Coordinator or their faculty advisor.

Online Job Board

Brightpoint has a free online job board called Handshake that students can access at any time to search for part-time, full-time, and seasonal jobs and internships posted by our local employer partners. Students can access Handshake through their myBrightpoint portal or at https://www.brightpoint.edu/services/career-services/.

Career Coach Online

Use Career Coach Online to explore the connections between the majors offered at Brightpoint, career and occupational areas, and the real jobs advertised in our local region.  Take an assessment to clarify the direction that aligns with your interests. Access Career Coach Online by going to https://Brightpoint.emsicc.com/?radius=&region=Richmond%20Metro%20Area

Community College Workforce Alliance

ccwatraining.org 

Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA), the workforce development partnership between Reynolds and Brightpoint community colleges, serves the training needs of the region with a comprehensive suite of programs, courses, and services. The partnership combines the strengths of the two colleges in order to provide the highest quality of training in four cities and 12 counties throughout Central Virginia.

CCWA provides workforce credentials designed to prepare regional residents prepared for full-time, skilled jobs in high-growth occupational fields. This training, called FastForward, comes with financial assistance for all Virginians - making the cost of training low to no cost. Additionally, CCWA offers individual and custom-designed instruction, business consulting, skills assessments and career coaching. CCWA provides online course registration with in-person, online and hybrid (combining classroom-based and online) instruction delivered by faculty with related industry experience and technical expertise. Instructors and CCWA career coaches have the skills and certiﬁcations to assist job seekers and companies to achieve their professional and strategic business goals.

Open Enrollment

CCWA provides hundreds of short-term professional development courses and certiﬁcation programs in technology, business administration and management, manufacturing and trades, health care and other occupational areas. Classes can be completed in weeks, days or even hours, in-class or online. Visit ccwatraining.org/catalog to view the most recent course schedule.

Business Solutions

CCWA works with large and small, new and expanding businesses to build tailor-made workforce training programs to increase employee performance and engagement and streamline work ﬂow. Programs (including industry certiﬁcation training) and services are offered at CCWA’s two workforce centers and additional training hubs on four different Reynolds and Brightpoint campuses. For more information, visit ccwatraining.org/services-for-businesses.

FastForward Credential Training

CCWA has prepared thousands of individuals for regionally available jobs through its FastForward workforce credentials program which provides any Virginian eligible to work in the Commonwealth with industry certiﬁcation training for an in-demand technician or trades job in information technology, health care, skilled trades, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, project management or customer service. FastForward programs are available at one-third the normal cost of tuition for all residents of Virginia, and Virginians of low to moderate income may also be eligible for additional tuition support including grants covering all tuition, fees, books and supplies. Participants in FastForward programs also beneﬁt from career coaching, job connections, and a shortened schedule of instruction designed to get participants certified and working as soon as possible.

CCWA can also provide ﬁnancial support for incumbent worker training on the worksite or at CCWA’s training centers through the FastForward program. Those interested can register by phone, fax, visiting a CCWA office, or on-line.

Visit ccwatraining.org/certiﬁcations for more information.

Financial Aid for Unemployed and Underemployed Workers

Thanks to new statewide workforce programs such as G3 and Virginia Ready, CCWA now has ﬁnancial aid to pay 100% of tuition, books, and supplies for job and certiﬁcation training for occupations and industries in which there is a strong regional demand for skilled workers. For more information, contact a CCWA career coach at 804-523-2292 or careercoach@ccwa.vccs.edu.

CCWA is also directly connecting all students seeking a new job or their first job with employers in the industry sectors relevant to CCWA’s FastForward and other workforce training programs. Through new technologies, career coaches, and CCWA’s instructional coordinators, CCWA is helping manufacturing, logistics, health care, trades, transportation, and IT employers find a credentialed, job ready workforce.

Network2Work

Network2WorkRVA (N2WRVA) is a new service that connects employers offering high-demand jobs with great wages to regional job seekers, including CCWA and Brightpoint Community College students. N2WRVA connects job seekers to a full spectrum of employment and support services to help prepare them for a local job to which they aspire. Services provided to job seekers enrolling, at any Brightpoint or Reynolds campus, to N2WRVA include education and training, career coaching, resume preparation, mock interviews, transportation, and other services to ensure job seekers are ready to succeed in their new careers. Network2WorkRVA has more than 300 employers ready to hire Brightpoint and CCWA students with an interest and aptitude in fields such as information technology, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing and skilled trades. For more information, contact Network2WorkRVA.com or call 804-523-CCWA.

EducateVA Career Switcher Program

educateva.com

The Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) offers an alternative teacher licensure program - EducateVA. This is a statewide initiative to address critical shortages in the teaching profession. EducateVA is certiﬁed by the Virginia Department of Education and provides a pathway for professionals seeking an entrance into the ﬁeld of education. Community colleges across the state serve as instructional sites for EducateVA, thus ensuring a program accessible to any student regardless of that student’s location. The list of teaching endorsements for which a student can prepare for certiﬁcation can be found at educateva.com.

Do You Qualify?

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution

• Three (3) or more years of full time professional work experience

• Content area expertise

• GPA of 2.5 or better

• Required assessments (Praxis Subject Assessment and VCLA)

• Must be willing to undergo a criminal background check prior to ﬁeld placement or employment in the classroom

What is Required?

• Complete the 18-week Level 1 program, which includes 40 hours of classroom ﬁeld experience

• Upon successful completion of Level 1, a one-year Career Switcher Provisional License is issued

• During Level II, candidates must teach successfully for one full year while completing additional online training and instructor-led sessions in order to be recommended for a full 10-year renewable teaching license