Congressionally Directed Spending

These projects are pending:

AI Workforce Transition & Career Resilience Center

Amount requested: $1,000,000
Member Sponsor: Rep. James Walkinshaw

The AI Workforce Transition & Career Resilience Center will position NOVA as the region’s rapid-response engine for workers displaced or disrupted by artificial intelligence. Rather than offering traditional career services, the Center will use real-time labor market intelligence, AI-driven skills diagnostics, and employer-designed short credentials to move mid-career professionals from displacement to reemployment. With direct hiring pipelines, stackable industry credentials, and measurable salary recovery outcomes, the initiative addresses both economic disruption and employer talent shortages simultaneously. Investment in this Center will not only stabilize families and preserve regional talent, but also create a scalable, data-driven model for how higher education can lead in the AI economy.

NOVA High Power for Skilled Trades

Amount requested: $2,500,000
Member Sponsor: Rep. Suhas Subramanyam

NOVA High Power for Skilled Trades: Northern Virginia is experiencing rapid growth in energy infrastructure and data centers, increasing demand for technicians with expertise in high-voltage systems, substation operations, and grid interconnection. To address this workforce gap, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) proposes developing new Electrical Skilled Trades and High-Voltage Electrical Technology courses and credentials that stack into existing Skilled Trades and Engineering Technology programs. The project also includes constructing a high-voltage training yard substation and simulated electric grid lab at NOVA’s Skilled Trades Center on the Manassas campus. In addition, NOVA will expand credit and non-credit workforce training, scholarships, and employer partnerships to build a strong talent pipeline for the region’s growing energy and data infrastructure sector.

“Precision Care”: Advancing Surgical Excellence

Amount requested: $930,000
Member Sponsor: Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine 

“Precision Care”: Advancing Surgical Excellence: The project will establish a Surgical Technology Program at the Medical Education Campus of Northern Virginia Community College in Springfield, Virginia. Funding will support renovation of a dedicated surgical lab and purchase of simulation systems, operating room equipment, sterilization systems, audiovisual technology, and IT infrastructure. These upgrades will create a modern, industry-aligned training environment that prepares students for national certification and immediate employment. The program will address critical shortages of surgical technologists across Northern Virginia healthcare systems.

These projects were funded at the following amounts: 

Annandale Critical Pipeline Modernization

Amount: $500,000
Member Sponsor: Rep. Gerry Connolly and Rep. James Walkinshaw

HVAC Program Expansion, Woodbridge

Amount: $250,000
Member Sponsor: Rep. Eugene Vindman

Manassas Center for Building and Construction Trades

Amount: $1,200,000
Member Sponsor: Rep. Suhas Subramanyam

These requests are no longer pending. NOTE: Congressionally Directed Spending was not enacted in Fiscal Year 2025 due to the passage of a year-long Continuing resolution. 

Summary of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Program Expansion Ask

The Northern Virginia Community College Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (AIR) Expansion project at the Woodbridge Campus will facilitate the renovation of the existing HVAC building, the procurement and installation of advanced training equipment, and provide necessary technological upgrades to existing lab space. The renovations and equipment upgrades will increase classroom capacity to grow the valuable skilled trade program necessary to meet the workforce needs of Virginia.

Summary of Annandale Critical Pipeline Infrastructure Modernization Ask

The current underground utility system at the Annandale Campus of Northern Virginia Community College has exceeded its lifespan and is causing campus closures, disruptions to classes and student services, and structural issues. The Annandale Critical Pipeline Modernization project will provide much-needed replacement of the campus’s early 1970s-era inefficient heating, ventilation, and cooling infrastructure with a modern, energy-efficient system. The current design links multiple buildings and requires frequent, costly and disruptive excavation for repairs and has led to repeated closures of the campus that have impacted the College’s ability to offer in-person classes, labs, and essential student services, including wrap-around services like counseling and access to food pantries. The positive impact of this critical infrastructure modernization on our students and campus community will ensure that we can continue our mission of providing equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs for decades to come. In addition, replacing the aged system with a modern, energy efficient one would reduce the carrying cost of the campus infrastructure, a fiscally responsible move that would release additional college funds—about 50 percent of which come from student tuition—for direct student services.

Summary of Manassas Center for Building and Construction Trades Project Ask

The Manassas Campus at Northern Virginia Community College seeks to establish a regional center for Building and Construction Trades. The creation of a centralized trades program in construction will strengthen the availability of high quality, technically skilled personnel to support current and future economic growth in Northern Virginia. Construction in the Northern Virginia region is pivotal for sustained growth and development across various disciplines. As a burgeoning economic hub, Northern Virginia presents a unique confluence of factors that necessitate strategic construction efforts to support its evolving needs. The funds requested will be used to enhance lab space and purchase advanced technical equipment necessary to train a skilled construction workforce leading to industry credentials and stackable opportunities for Northern Virginia residents. 

Summary of Automotive Technology Program Ask

The goal of this project is to equip additional lab space for hybrid and electric vehicle training and Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) courses designed to meet industry needs. We desire to create advanced vehicle technology instruction that inspires by blending classroom & lab instruction together in a modern automotive environment. If the College is awarded CDS funding for equipment, furniture, and training, NOVA will use already available local capital dollars to fund associated building reconfigurations necessary to support this regionally beneficial program expansion.

Equipping an advanced automotive technology lab teaching space on the NOVA Alexandria Campus will enable us to train well qualified hybrid and electric vehicle technicians to fill existing jobs and advance to high demand careers in the region. Those who enroll in the advanced automotive technology program will be able to earn a Career Studies Certificate (CSC) and/or Associate of Applied Science degree (AAS) in Advanced Vehicle Technology.

Based on our student demographics, these specializations will directly benefit many first-generation college students. NOVA’s program is also the only one in the region that offers hands-on HEV training. As such, NOVA is best positioned to meet the growing workforce needs in this essential, highly skilled field. We consistently receive requests, questions and recommendations from both employers and high school instructors regarding expanded opportunities for electrified vehicle training.

Summary of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Program Ask

To support the workforce needs of the data center industry, home developers and HVAC repair and maintenance employers, NOVA will use funds to grow our program offerings which include an Associate of Applied Science in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration degree, along with a fully stackable Certificate and a Career Studies Certificate. The program provides instruction in specialized laboratory facilities located on the NOVA-Woodbridge Campus with curriculum informed by our HVAC advisory board, consisting of industry and employer partners. No other program in northern Virginia offers a full HVAC or controls certificate with an integrated apprenticeship leading to an associate’s degree.

Our curriculum prepares students for successful careers in residential and commercial HVAC, but limited faculty and facility challenges limit us to just over 150 HVAC credentials awards annually. NOVA’s AIR program is accredited by HVAC Excellence – a national, third-party, accreditation agency that reviews HVACR education programs to validate that a program meets established standards to prepare students for successful, entry-level industry positions.

Summary of LPN to RN Program Ask

This initiative seeks to increase the number of skilled nurses in the workforce, with a special focus on helping individuals advance from LPN to RN. The requested funds support state-of-the-art technology, training, and education that will benefit all Medical Education Campus students, but significantly, this proposal will directly benefit women of color, who are disproportionately represented in LPN jobs and strive to advance to RN careers. They will now have a ladder up that will strengthen their own futures and the future healthcare of our region. As NOVA is the primary regional provider of skilled nurses and health science professionals, there is no doubt that we are best positioned to ramp-up and make a real impact in filling critical and growing healthcare workforce needs.

It is also significant to note, as the President and CEO of the Inova Health System shared in his organization’s letter of support, NOVA’s nursing education program is a proven, quality talent pipeline. To directly quote from Dr. Jones’ strong endorsement: This proposed program will be a valuable regional tool in our healthcare workforce toolbox. Establishing NOVA’s LPN to RN pathway and expanding the capabilities of its nursing education program will be a benefit to Inova, our team members, our region, and our Commonwealth.

Summary of Diesel Technology Program Ask

Specifically, the Diesel Technology certification students earn with this expansion will directly benefit many first-generation college students and the increasingly diverse student body attending our NOVA campuses, especially at the Manassas Campus. As NOVA is the only academic program in the region training diesel technicians, we are best positioned to make a real impact in tackling workforce needs in this essential, skilled field.

Also, as the President and CEO of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce noted in her organization’s letter of support, our Diesel program is not limited to trucks and construction equipment. It equips students to maintain emergency generators for hospitals and data centers to highlight two vital areas. As Ms. Jones emphasized in her strong endorsement, “These are skills that can be learned quickly and will lead to higher salaries and fill vacancies.”

Summary of DCO Program Expansion Ask

Northern Virginia is home to the largest data center market in the world, nearly equal to the 2nd through 5th largest US markets combined. To support the workforce needs of this industry, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) successfully launched a Data Center Operations (DCO), Associate of Applied Science degree and a fully stackable Career Studies Certificate program in specialized laboratory facilities located on the NOVA-Loudoun campus with curriculum informed by our data center industry partners. The program prepares students to be successful facility technicians.

Data centers are expanding in Northern Virginia, growing out of the Loudoun corridor into Prince William County (PWC). NOVA’s current program does not meet market needs, and we have no program in PWC. This current state creates a barrier to the growth of a vital industry sector and an access barrier to students in PWC, one of the most diverse and under-resourced in Northern Virginia. We were successful in seeking support to expand the DCO program to NOVA-Woodbridge in PWC supporting the data center industry, strengthening and growing the workforce pipeline, providing increased access socio-economic mobility through high-wage and in-demand careers to students in several of Northern Virginia’s most underserved communities.

To expand NOVA’s Data Center Operations program to Prince William County, the $5.1M in Congressionally Directed Spending will fund the required equipment and technology upgrades to equip lab space in NOVA’s Regional Center for Workforce Education and Training located on the NOVA-Woodbridge campus.