The talent accelerator program began in 2019 as a joint effort by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Community College System and provides training and recruitment resources at no cost to qualified new and expanding companies in the commonwealth. It’s first project involved training 700 workers at a new plant in Danville, Virginia where walk-in delivery vans are built.

At startup or during expansion when margins are small and expenses need to be controlled, programs like these can be the deciding factors for a business looking for a home.

This may be one reason CNBC earlier this year called Virginia the best state for business, though CNBC was also impressed by the state’s strong education and workforce metrics. The commonwealth was also at the top of the CNBC list last year, and has been called the best state for business by them five times since 2007.

Virginia last won the Business Facilities award in 2018. It was one of three states singled out for States of the Year awards by the publication this year. Massachusetts was called the state with the best workforce/educational system, while Tennessee was called the state with the best deal-making.