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The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) is presenting a free Cyber + Cloud Virtual Career Fair, on Jan. 28, 2021, from 1-4 p.m. ET. The virtual hiring event is for professionals in the IT, cyber and cloud industries, and is open to those at all experience levels. Job-seekers with security clearances are especially encouraged to attend.

To ensure your spot, register now for this event by clicking here.

Participants will be able to browse companies in the lobby, enter their booths, view open positions and training programs, and chat with HR representatives in real-time — all from the comfort of home. It is not necessary to be located in Northern Virginia to attend the fair.

The virtual career fair will be a one-stop-shop for technologists to network and interview with 21 tech companies in Northern Virginia that have more than 5,000 open jobs in the cyber and cloud arenas. Attendees will be able to chat with representatives from these companies that range from Fortune 500 biggies to small, minority-, woman- and veteran-owned companies. Here’s the lineup of companies.

 

The career fair is part of the talent attraction and retention initiative created by the FCEDA this year thanks to funding from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

“The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is proud to host the Cyber + Cloud Virtual Career Fair,” said Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA. “We are thankful to the outstanding tech companies that will be participating in this event. This will be a great opportunity for job-seekers to interview virtually for job opportunities in two of the most robust industry sectors in Northern Virginia.”

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Mason to provide workforce upskilling initiatives

Fairfax-based George Mason University is looking at ways to provide education to experienced workers who were displaced as a result of the economic downturn associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the university’s president Gregory Washington told its governing body, the Board of Visitors.

According to News at Mason, Mason is aligning curriculum to help displaced workers to attain the skills they would need to qualify for job openings in Northern Virginia. The upskilling initiative is aimed at individuals with college degrees whose skills are increasingly mismatched for the changing job market.

Regional unemployment peaked in April 2020 at 10.4 percent. Currently there are more than 82,000 open jobs in Northern Virginia, according to JobsEQ produced by Chmura Economics & Analytics. You can find all those job openings in the workinnorthernvirginia.com website created by the FCEDA this year.

Washington told the Board of Visitors that Mason is planning ways to best position its current students to join the workforce despite a difficult national unemployment rate, especially for recent college graduates.

The university is creating the Mason Talent exchange, which is aimed at more precisely matching early career professionals about to enter the job market with regional employers looking for entry-level college-educated talent. In addition, Washington said Mason is planning to help meet the growing demand for higher education in Virginia by expanding access to the university through community college partnerships, such as the ADVANCE program with Northern Virginia Community College, according to News at Mason.

“We have to figure out how to support students, and how to position them, such that when they graduate, they can take advantage of the opportunities in the workforce,” Washington said. “We have put together curriculum that matches the needs of those jobs.”

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Microsoft Federal President Rick Wagner appointed to FCEDA Commission

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has appointed Rick Wagner, president of Microsoft Federal, to the Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) Commission. The seven-member Commission, the Authority’s board of directors, is comprised of business people and ensures that the business community is well represented in the policymaking functions of the FCEDA.

“I am delighted to join the Economic Development Authority board,” Wagner said. “The FCEDA has played a leading role in building a local economy that is the envy of the nation and world, and it is making a real difference now in maintaining Fairfax County’s economic strength in a difficult time and for the future with its business investment efforts and talent initiatives.”

Microsoft Federal, supporting federal agencies of all sizes and scopes as they deliver mission-critical work and embrace technology to achieve objectives and serve citizens. The organization also has tight integration with Microsoft’s U.S. sales, partner and engineering organizations to bring transformational mission solutions to federal customers.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Wagner was president of ManTech Mission, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions Group, dedicated to advancing technological services to the United States government’s intelligence and defense communities.

Before joining ManTech in 2015, Wagner was chief strategy officer at TASC, where he led growth strategy and business development. Over his 16 years at TASC, he rose from program manager/systems engineer to senior vice president of the company’s Defense Group. Earlier in his career, he held management positions at Lockheed Martin and Raytheon and worked as a software engineer and project manager for the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

“We are thrilled to add Rick to our board because he brings deep experience in the defense, intelligence and cyber industries that are so strong in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia, and he has a lot of insight into what attracts and keeps talent here,” said FCEDA Commission Chair Cathy Lange.

Wagner has been selected to Executive Mosaic’s Washington 100 for three consecutive years and was selected as 2019 Intelligence Leader of the Year. He is a member of the Intelligence & National Security Alliance board of directors and the board of Fairfax Futures.

Wagner earned a master’s degree in engineering management from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

December 10, 2020