EDA staff outlines workforce training plans, machining program and site-readiness work tied to blue catfish processors

Lancaster County economic development staff updated the authority Oct. 15 on multiple workforce and site-readiness initiatives, including plans for an EMT pipeline for high-school students, a proposed machining/CNC program hosted at Turn Dynamics, and efforts to identify shorefront sites for seafood processors focused on blue catfish.

The staff presenter described longstanding shortages in EMT and paramedic staffing and said Rappahannock Community College (referred to in the meeting as "RCC") launched an eight-week fast-track AEMT/EMT program this year. He proposed creating an EMT academy under the regional technical center for high-school students, potentially housed at an RCC facility that already runs a CNA program. The presenter said the idea is to funnel high-school students into RCC’s paramedic training to supply county and regional employers; he acknowledged an instructor and funding challenges remain and said tuition assistance would likely require grant support.

On manufacturing training, the presenter described a Kilmarnock-based machining firm, Turn Dynamics, which plans a growth and diversification strategy and has acquired space suitable for training. He said RCC will be the lead applicant on a Go Virginia implementation grant to reestablish and expand a CNC/machining program, purchase automated machines with grant funds if approved, and house the program at Turn Dynamics’ Kilmarnock facility to produce job-ready machinists.

Staff also described business recruitment requests from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and interest from an aquaculture/processing company seeking waterfront space (about 10,000 square feet) to process blue catfish. The presenter said Lancaster has unique zoning that allows commercial fish processing as a by-right use where the historic use existed, and that the county has joined Middlesex County on a Go Virginia planning grant to study blue catfish market pathways and to inventory and advance five potential sites in Lancaster through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) site-selection process. The staff member said site readiness is often constrained by access to public water and sewer.

The presenter noted commercial fishing and processing for blue catfish show renewed market interest and that processors are looking for reliable markets and per-pound pricing that will sustain harvesters. He said some processors have international markets and that state and federal interest in blue catfish (including legislative attention) is helping spur private-sector interest.

All initiatives were presented for discussion; no formal decisions or grant awards were made because the authority lacked a quorum. Staff said they will continue discussions with RCC, local school superintendents, regional workforce boards and potential industry partners and pursue grant applications where appropriate.