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Post-Secondary Readiness

Post-Secondary Readiness

Post-Secondary Readiness

Since Day One, Governor Youngkin has prioritized ensuring that every student graduates high school ready for success in life. Through the 3E Readiness Framework, Virginia has redefined success as career-aligned job attainment through Enrollment, Enlistment, or Employment after high school. Part of this post-secondary readiness is aligning educational training to the needs of the regional workforce, ensuring that every student is equipped with the skills needed to thrive in a high-demand job.

Virginia Office of Education Economics

The Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE) has played a pivotal role in ensuring that career pathways are based on the demands of the labor market. Governor Youngkin has expanded VOEE, including:

  • Added trainings for superintendents on how to use VOEE to inform career pathways offerings;
  • Writing VOEE into the definition of high-wage, high-demand career opportunities; and
  • Bolstering the Academic and Career Plans (ACP) starting in 8th grade, with counselors trained in VOEE so students are familiar with the demands of the labor market.

Governor Youngkin also incorporated VOEE into the definition of what are high-wage, high-demand career opportunities, ensuring alignment across Virginia's education and workforce.

College and Career Ready Virginia and Meaningful Internships and Work-Based Learning Experiences

In 2023, Governor Youngkin signed HB1087 into law, creating the College and Career Ready Virginia Program and Fund requiring each school board to offer qualified high school students access to dual enrollment courses at no cost sufficient for them to complete the Passport Program and the Uniform Certificate of General Studies. The bill's workgroup convened to identify opportunities for improvement across Virginia. Through the bill's implementation, Governor Youngkin has streamlined access to dual enrollment courses for students across Virginia, including a $35 million investment for any public high school student to take dual enrollment or other courses for a high-demand industry recognized credential.

Additionally, Governor Youngkin signed HB1083 into law, creating a work group on Education and Workforce Data to analyze Virginia's education and workforce data ecosystems to promote alignment between the Virginia Longitudinal Data System, the Virginia Workforce Data Trust, and the Virginia Office of Education Economics. This work group provided a report on the opportunities for streamlining coordination between the different pillars of education and workforce data governance.

Beyond dual enrollment, Governor Youngkin has prioritized multiple pathways to success. Virginia's community colleges are investing in the most in-demand areas for the highest-demand in-growth jobs. FastForward, our short-term workforce training program, has experienced a 120% increase in enrollment since 2017. Governor Youngkin changed policies at higher education institutions to ensure that JROTC credit is accepted at every institution.

Governor Youngkin's ultimate goal is for every college graduate to have had a meaningful work experience. In 2023 and 2024, Virginia ranked #1 in the nation for customized workforce training by Business Facilities, and has been consulted by national experts like Strata, ESG, and others for leadership in these areas.

College Program Approval Process Redesign

Through collaboration with the State Higher Education Council for Virginia (SCHEV), Governor Youngkin revised the program approval process, enacted in March 2025, to realign degree programs to a positive return on investment and applicability to high-demand jobs as defined by VOEE rather than by statute. SCHEV's revised six-year planning process and Op Six have refocused higher education on outcomes and employability, culminating in the coming SCHEV Outcomes Portal to guide Virginians' understanding of how each institution is serving students.