How One Virginia Community College Is Closing the Skills Gap

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Inside a cavernous industrial space in Portsmouth, the rhythmic hiss and spark of welding torches fill the air. Twenty-five students work simultaneously in individual booths, learning skills that will transform their economic futures in just three weeks. This is the Skilled Trades Academy, the centerpiece of Tidewater Community College's ambitious workforce development initiative, and a model that's now expanding across Virginia's Hampton Roads region.

“We are the access gap fillers,” explains Art Hall, who joined TCC as Vice President for Workforce Solutions in March 2024. “Anything that either four-year institutions or two-year institutions are not touching, that's kind of our market. If folks don't think they can enroll in a four-year or even a two-year institution, then we're hoping we can fill that gap.”

For TCC President Dr. Marcia Conston, who arrived in early 2020, that gap-filling mission has become increasingly sophisticated. Under her leadership, the college has expanded its Skilled Trades Academy, launched mobile training labs, and deepened partnerships with industries ranging from shipbuilding to hospitality—all while leveraging Virginia's remarkable state funding programs that make workforce training largely free for students.

Conston came to TCC after nearly 20 years as vice president for Enrollment and Student Success Services at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her three-decade career in higher education began at Jackson State University in Mississippi, where she also earned her bachelor's and master's degrees, and a doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi. As an evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, she had evaluated 14 institutions for reaccreditation, including two Virginia community colleges, before taking the helm at TCC.

Meeting Industry Where It Lives

Dr. Marcia ConstonTidewater Community CollegeTCC’s approach reflects a fundamental principle: training must be tailored to local industry needs with unprecedented flexibility and speed. Hall, who came to Virginia from Texas community colleges, notes a striking difference between the two states.

"One of the biggest differences between Texas and Virginia is the amount of funding that's available for workforce students is just astronomical," Hall observes. "Back home, most students had to pay most of their tuition out of pocket. Here, pretty much a student can get a certificate or a license for free."