Building Tomorrow’s Workforce Starts Earlier

Across Virginia and throughout the country, employers need skilled talent, communities need stronger workforce pipelines and educators need meaningful ways to connect classroom learning with future opportunities.

GO TEC addresses each of these needs.

The Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (GO TEC®) program prepares students starting in middle school for future educational and career opportunities through hands-on, industry-aligned learning experiences that build foundational knowledge and skills. Rather than waiting until high school to introduce career pathways, GO TEC students begin exploring emerging technologies, growing industries and future career opportunities during the critical middle school years.

By bringing together education, industry and workforce development, GO TEC builds stronger talent pipelines while creating value for students, schools, employers and communities alike.

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GO TEC is administered by the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR).

Why GO TEC Was Created

GO TEC started with a workforce challenge.

Economic development leaders, educators and workforce professionals realized that employers consistently asked the same question when considering new locations or expansions:

Where will future workers come from, and will they have the skills needed to support our operations?

Traditional workforce development efforts often begin in high school or later. However, students often begin to form interests and make educational decisions years before that point. Regional leaders recognized that if Virginia wanted stronger workforce pipelines, career awareness and exploration needed to start earlier.

The result was GO TEC.

The program launched as a pilot in three middle schools in the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County during the 2018-2019 school year. From the beginning, the goal was to expose students to careers and, just as importantly, effectively connect those middle school learning experiences to high school pathways, postsecondary training opportunities and future careers.

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More Than a Career Awareness Program

Many career awareness programs focus primarily on exposure.

GO TEC goes further.

GO TEC Benefits

Industry-aligned curriculum
Hands-on technologies and equipment
Competency-based learning experiences
Clear connections to future educational and career pathways

Through 11 modules that focus on in-demand career pathways, students do much more than learn about different industries. They engage with technologies, explore real-world applications and develop foundational skills connected to in-demand career fields. This helps students understand both the opportunities available to them and the pathways to get there.

GO TEC makes career exploration active, engaging and meaningful while maintaining alignment with workforce needs and educational standards.

Built Around Workforce and Economic Development

GO TEC is both a workforce development initiative and an economic development strategy.

Communities seeking to attract and retain employers must demonstrate a commitment to developing future talent. Employers want confidence that strong workforce pipelines will exist not only today but years into the future.

GO TEC provides that confidence by introducing students to high-demand industries and emerging technologies earlier, helping them understand educational pathways and strengthening long-term workforce capacity.

The program’s impact extends beyond the classroom. Economic development leaders regularly showcase GO TEC as an example of Virginia’s commitment to workforce readiness. Employers visiting GO TEC classrooms see students engaging with modern technologies, exploring career pathways and developing foundational skills connected to future workforce needs.

Several major economic development successes in Virginia have highlighted the importance of the Commonwealth’s workforce development ecosystem, including the talent pipeline that begins with programs such as GO TEC.

Growing Across Virginia

What started as a small pilot has evolved into a statewide initiative.

Since launching in three middle schools during the 2018-2019 school year, GO TEC has expanded throughout the Commonwealth through strategic partnerships, continued investment and demonstrated success. GO Virginia has funded much of the program’s growth to date.

Today, the model spans dozens of communities and school divisions, connecting students to career pathways that align with regional workforce priorities and economic development goals. GO TEC continues to grow as additional schools and communities seek to participate.

This growth reflects strong support from educational partners, workforce organizations, industry leaders and community stakeholders who recognize the importance of developing talent earlier.

Evolving for Long-Term Sustainability

As GO TEC has grown, so has the need for a sustainable model that can support continued expansion and long-term impact.

To reduce reliance on grant funding, the program is implementing a strategic transition plan to diversify revenue sources and strengthen financial sustainability. This approach will ensure that students, schools, industry partners and communities can continue benefiting from GO TEC for years to come.

By building a sustainable model, GO TEC can continue to expand access, support participating schools and adapt to workforce needs as industries and technologies evolve.

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