Return to Roots is a campaign to match companies in a nine-county region in Southwest Virginia to the estimated 15,000 high school alumni who want to return to the region, or those who want to relocate. Southwest Virginia is exploding with new job opportunities that need people willing to locate to the region. Global IT giants Northrup Grumman and CGI are already ramping up to meet a commitment to create more than 700 software development jobs in new facilities in the Town of Lebanon. These and other Southwest Virginia companies - including private employers and public institutions in fields such as defense, health care and education - need to find skilled workers for job opportunities such as computer programmers, network technicians, and database administrators, as well as industrial, mechanical and electrical engineers, electricians and welders.
Funded by a Special Projects grant from the Tobacco Commission, Return to Roots is reaching out to former residents and companies through its web site, a direct mail campaign and the media to inform prospective employees about employment opportunities existing in the region today. Tobacco Commission grant funds are further supporting this transformational effort on multiple fronts. Opportunity Funds have been committed to the CGI and Northrup-Grumman projects, Southwest Economic Development funds are helping turn a former Food Lion grocery store into a training center, and Education grants are being used to train prospective employees in a Fast Track software development curriculum offered by the region’s community colleges.
For additional information visit Return to Roots on the web at www.returntoroots.org or call (540) 831-6389.
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