NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The What’s Next program connects residents in underserved communities with job training and future planning support to advance career preparation, job attainment and financial stability.

“I wish I had somebody when I was 18 or 19 tell me go take HVAC, it’s only four weeks, or go get your CDL, it’s only four weeks,” said What’s Next Marketing Director Eric Montgomery.

That’s the advice Montgomery is able to share with the next generation through the program What’s Next — a question many ask themselves, but don’t quite have the answer.

“College is not for everybody,” he said. “[If] you can’t afford it, instead of going to college going into debt, you can come in here. We take kids straight out of high school.”

They then connect them with job training and future planning support to advance their lives. On Monday, Hampton Roads residents had the chance to see all the program has to offer.

“It’s a good thing,” said attendee Dominique Strickland. “It’s good for the community, it’s good for Newport News [and] Hampton Roads. As far as the program I’m looking into, it’s cybersecurity.”

If cybersecurity doesn’t interest you, there’s many other trades.

“HVAC programs with us, all the health classes you could think of, phlebotomy, any trade that’s in the shipyard, they come straight through here,” Montgomery said. “We got them in and got them employed.”

There’s also promising careers in healthcare, which interests Shakiya Seeger.

“I feel like our youth needs a lot of help, especially our younger generation, because we don’t get help, so if I get this opportunity now, I should take it,” Seeger said.

If you missed this opportunity, there will be more in the future. You can find more information about what’s next, by clicking here.