The Greater Washington Partnership has announced two new board partners: Dave Calhoun, CEO of The Boeing Company, and Tim Sands, President of Virginia Tech.

Both of them bring with them cross-sector expertise and will be instrumental in the partnership’s efforts to strengthen the competitive tech workforce in the region. Their terms are effective immediately and run through 2026.

Calhoun and Sands have joined the partnership at a time when the organization is sharpening its focus on skills and talent initiatives, aimed at bridging the gap between the business and academic communities across Baltimore and Richmond.

Virginia Tech and Boeing have already developed a constructive shared commitment to innovation and collaboration as they expand their regional footprints.

According to Peter Scher, vice chairman at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Board Chair of the Partnership, the partnership between Boeing and Virginia Tech is a leading example of how employer-educator collaboration can unlock talent, drive innovation, and catalyze economic transformation in a region.

He also believes that the organization will be better equipped to shape its work and provide insight into innovative methods to strengthen ties between industry and academia.

In 2022, an estimated 70,000 jobs remained unfilled in the region, and nearly half of these vacancies were technology jobs.

An essential resource used by the partnership to address these gaps is the employer signaling system (ESS), a differentiating tool informed by employers and labor market data that helps educators prepare students to fill some of the most in-demand tech jobs.

Kathy Warden, chair, CEO, and president at Northrop Grumman and vice board chair at the partnership, believes that the partnership’s efforts to bring together employers, community leaders, and academics to identify shared opportunities and act on critical issues are essential to the region and the nation.

She also stated that they will leverage insights from GWP programs, including the employer signaling system, to fill vital tech jobs and generate greater economic opportunity.

Virginia Tech is already an existing partner with the ESS and has a history of working with industry leaders to build a curriculum that aligns with evolving labor market needs.