Since its launch in 2019, the nationally acclaimed Virginia Talent Accelerator Program has helped to secure more than 11,000 jobs across the Commonwealth. Continuing a trend that started during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is playing a significant role helping Virginia capture the wave of reshoring manufacturing to the United States. The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program provides world-class training and recruitment solutions that are fully customized to a company’s unique operations, equipment, standards, and culture and enables leading manufacturers to hit the ground running in the Commonwealth.
The Talent Accelerator helped Virginia land recent wins like the Weidmüller Group’s $16.4 million expansion in Chesterfield County that will create 100 new jobs. Another German company, Zollner Elektronik AG, will invest a combined $18 million to expand in Danville and Loudoun County, growing its market presence in the United States and creating 100 new jobs. Delta Star, Inc., the largest American-owned medium transformer manufacturer in the U.S. and the premier manufacturer of mobile transformers in North America, recently announced a $30.2 million investment to expand its manufacturing and headquarters operation in the city of Lynchburg and create 149 new jobs.
The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program’s work begins immediately with the development of highly customized recruitment websites that feature the career and lifestyle opportunities unique to each company’s Virginia location. The Talent Accelerator team also produces recruitment videos designed to give interested job candidates a peek inside each company, showcasing everything from their processes to what inspires people to build a career there.
I’ve never seen [anything] like the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, and I’ve been to many places around the world to look at facilities. Carsten Rasmussen, COO, The LEGO Group The Virginia Talent Accelerator Program results have been impressive: the average response time between the public announcement and registration of the first applicant is 18 minutes. Delta Star, Weidmüller, and Zollner all saw hundreds of applicants within a matter of weeks, with subsequent specialized training planned to help new employees quickly acclimate to the operations. Following the 2022 announcement that the LEGO Group selected Virginia for its $1B U.S. factory, the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program team got to work immediately designing a customized recruitment website that went live with the project announcement and drew more than 3,000 job candidates within 36 hours.
“I’ve never seen [anything] like the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, and I’ve been to many places around the world to look at facilities,” said Carsten Rasmussen, COO, The LEGO Group. “I have never seen the dedication, the willingness, the want to help support Virginia, future employees, and the LEGO Group in making sure we have the right fit. It’s phenomenal.”
