TCC certified as top Educator, Employer from Virginia Values Veterans Program

Tidewater Community College’s most recent honor recognizes the college as a top employer and educator when it comes to opportunities for veterans.

TCC is dually certified as an Employer and Educator by the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) Program. Sanctioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Veterans Services, the program helps companies and educators implement nationally recognized best practices in recruiting, hiring, retraining and retaining skilled and dependable veterans.

The recently introduced V3-Educator Program is aimed at helping education providers increase employment opportunities for veterans, including connecting them to employers.

Along with TCC, John Tyler and Germanna community colleges are inaugural recipients of V3-Educator certification.

As a V3-Employer, the college has the full support of the state’s Department of Veterans Services in the following areas:

increasing awareness of resources available for veteran recruiting, hiring and retention;
assisting in achieving veteran hiring goals;
capturing and distributing lessons learned, success stories and best practices.

“Service to military-related students remains integral to TCC’s mission,” said President Edna V. Baehre-Kolovani. “As a college, we are proud to not only be a V3-certified Educator but a V3-certified Employer dedicated to recruiting and hiring veterans whose integrity and expertise complement our workforce.”

In order to become V3-certified, a company must make a public commitment to the commonwealth to recruit, hire and retain qualified veterans, complete an intensive year-long training program and submit a formal Organizational Veteran Hiring Plan outlining the company’s strategy and goals for investing in the many qualified veterans in Virginia.

Requirements to become a V3-Educator include successful completion of the “V3 Educator Certifying and Licensing” live webinar and completing a Military and Veteran Student Success Plan.

Active duty, reserves, National Guard, Coast Guard, veterans and their families make up about one-third of the college’s enrollment.

TCC’s Center for Military and Veterans Education (CMVE) employs more than 50 staff members on each of the college’s four campuses and four local bases working to provide quality, one-stop student services to its military-related students. Approximately 93 percent of the CMVE’s employees are former military.

“Life in the military can be difficult for the military member as well as family members,” said Bill Brown, executive director of the CMVE. “We found while completing the V3 program that TCC already follows the best practices identified for schools to use to ensure they are providing the best support possible to all military, veterans and their family members.”

TCC offers professional development in a range of industries, including Solar Ready Vets, which provides transitioning sailors a pathway to potential employment in the solar industry. The college is a three-time recipient of a Department of Transportation grant that funds training in the trucking industry for former military men and women.