If your business is in need of a skilled workforce to help replace those veteran employees who are departing, you can use the SRA process to help fill those needs.

Businesses willing to partner with the school system and Virginia Dept. of Labor & Industry (VDOLI).

In short, SRA involves mentoring (and paying) a student through company-specific training to become a highly-trained and credentialed employee within your company/industry.

Contact the Roanoke VDOLI representative and RCPS CTE personnel for more details.

See the VDOLI website and/or your local SRA representative:

Roanoke Co. - Jason Suhr, jsuhr@rcps.us
Roanoke City - Jess Truax, jtruax@rcps.info
Salem City - Jamie Soltis, jsoltis@salem.k12.va.us

In order to incorporate your business into the student registration process, your business should be in place through VDOLI and partner school system criteria by December of the year that precedes the next school year (i.e. by December 2022 for the 2023-2024 school year).

Contact a VDOLI representative to review criteria and to officially register your business.

If you are interested in applying what you are learning in high school, earning money and becoming a highly-skilled and credentialed employee soon out of high school, you can apply to be an apprentice. In many cases the companies for which you work will help you pursue furthering your education which means minimizing student debt for you and your family.

Students aged 16 and up. Student must be 16 by the start-date of their apprenticeship.

A commitment to maintaining good grades in school and working part-time at the business under specific VDOLI regulated conditions toward becoming a highly-trained and credentialed employee of said business.

The process of being selected includes (not limited to) students being screened by school system officials to ensure graduation requirements can be met and an interview by the business.

Time may be spent at the industry site during at least part of the school day.

With your school’s counseling department and/or via the school system Career and Technical Education office.

Expressing interest in the SRA process should begin with normal course registration via guidance counselors in January/February of the year prior to the beginning of the desired apprenticeship.

Contact your school’s counseling department to ask about current and updated opportunities.