Touting his administration’s accomplishments, Gov. Glenn Youngkin opened the first Peninsula Insiders’ Breakfast since the start of the pandemic on Wednesday.
The breakfast was at Christopher Newport University and presented by Wason Center for Civic Leadership and Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
Youngkin, who has been in office since January, said together with the Virginia General Assembly, the largest education budget in the commonwealth’s history was passed. Virginia’s fiscal year started July 1.
With that increase, Youngkin said the commonwealth will be giving public school teachers a 10 percent raise. Money will also be spent for school infrastructure and to create lab schools.
The need to create better schools is to better prepare students to enter the workforce, he emphasized. Part of that effort was a recent meeting with Virginia’s college presidents to create a dialogue..
He said one of his biggest challenges is to keep people from leaving Virginia. According to Youngkin more people left Virginia in the past few years than have entered.
“The largest group to move away is between 22 to 35 years old,” he said to the large crowd.
Youngkin sees his administration’s role is to facilitate job creation.
“We are building a commonwealth of opportunity. It is a priority that we build a workforce of the future,” he said.
Youngkin wants to see more collaboration between colleges and workforce development. He also said there is a need for “life time learning.”
Investment in military veterans who wish to start a business is also a priority, he added.
With off-shore wind energy being established off Virginia’s coast, the governor said he would like to see an increase in the supply chain to build more.
One challenge is the lack of sites to build manufacturing facilities, he said.
Emphasizing the need for government, schools and business partner, he said “We go to work together.”
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