In NC I took the CCW class, it was a day long class basically, lot's of talking and laws, very minimal what I remember now, but it all comes down to common sense in the long run.
Anyways after the class you go out onto the range and you shoot a pistol in three different stances, one handed standing, two handed standing, and one hand at hip level. You have to get at least 3 bullets within a certain diameter at about 15 feet out, really not that hard if you have ever shot a gun before or have any skill with a pistol at all.
That gave me the right to get a concealed weapon permit, now I can take that and go to the sheriff's office to get certified completely and have my run to carry a concealed weapon.
Dunno how Virginia works at all, but that was how it went down in NC.