The local public broadcasting station is branching into employment preparation.
WHRO-TV is scheduled to announce today that it is offering more than 3,500 online classes to help people train for work.
The classes, which will be available immediately at SkillsOnline.org, include cloud computing basics, risk management planning and grant writing. The cost will range from $20 to $1,795 but will average about $100, said Bert Schmidt, the CEO and president of WHRO.
The courses, developed by private education companies, are open to Virginians, Schmidt said. They do not carry college credit, but some could lead to industry certification.
"We want to help match the skills of people who are unemployed or underemployed with the jobs out there," Schmidt said. "We think we can make a big difference in improving the employment situation in Virginia."
The classes, he said, could be used by individuals or businesses, which might want to enroll employees in, say, an Excel course.
The program will be unveiled this morning in Hampton by business and workforce officials and Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who already is touting the next phase: "work readiness modules" to teach key skills required for employment.
WHRO plans to develop 21 of these modules and will launch five, including Internet use and applied mathematics, in the spring, Schmidt said. They will be free and available to students, adults, agencies and businesses.
The modules "will help employers put more Virginians to work and will provide no-cost resources for educators and local government training providers," McAuliffe said in a statement.
Community colleges including Eastern Shore, Paul D. Camp, Rappahannock and Thomas Nelson have signed on as partners. Paul D. Camp's president, Paul Conco, said that means the college will promote the classes and modules to students and employers with whom it works.
"Reasonable-price courses are what community colleges have always been about," Conco said, "and strengthening employment skills for the citizens of our service region is also what community colleges have always been about."
Tidewater Community College is not participating because "we determined it wasn't a good fit for TCC," President Edna Baehre-Kolovani said in a statement. The college "already offers accredited training and education - online and in-person - that is responsive to the region's workforce needs and, in most cases, counts toward a college degree."
The online development, Schmidt said, is a "natural extension" for WHRO, a nonprofit owned by 19 local public school divisions. WHRO already offers more than 20 virtual high school classes, as well as online teacher training, he said.
SkillsOnline, Schmidt said, also could help build revenue for WHRO, which lost virtually all of its state funding in 2012. More than one-third of WHRO's $13 million annual budget is financed by its educational offerings, he said.
Philip Walzer, 757-222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com