Regional Employment Board of Hampden County 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 014035-- 413.755.1369 kaiken@rebhc.org www.rebhc.org

Healthcare On-the-Job Training Program

Overview The Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, on behalf of the Healthcare Workforce Partnership of Western MA, is coordinating a new on-the-job training program for the healthcare industry. The purpose of the program is to assist unemployed and underemployed workers (including new graduates) transition to practice in targeted healthcare careers through a combination of occupational skills training and on-the-job training (OJT). This new OJT program is supported through public and private funding sources. The New England Knowledge Corridor Health Careers Project (HCP), a partnership between Capital Workforce Partners (Hartford, CT) and the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County (REB), was recently awarded a four-year, $4,986,81 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration. The Bank of America Foundation recently awarded the REB a $150,000 three-year grant to support The Transition to Practice Program (T2P). An additional $48,000 in federal Workforce Investment Act funding will also be leveraged to support the program over the next three years. Targeted Occupations in Western Massachusetts From 2012-2014, the following occupations will be targeted for OJT opportunities. Participants will obtain industry-recognized credentials and OJT to provide the necessary clinical and technical skills and work experience. The program will also provide assessment, career counseling, and social support.

30 Registered Nurses (e.g., specialty areas, home health, community health, AD to BSN)

10 Medical Coders

5 Health IT professionals

26 other healthcare professionals (e.g., medical assistants, medical interpreters, community health workers, licensed practical nurses, medical office/administration, certified nursing assistants)

Benefits to Employers Both programs will assist employers with the cost of hiring and training new employees into fulltime permanent positions. OJT enables employers to hire new employees and train them at their place of business, while being reimbursed a percentage of the new employees’ wages during training. Benefits to Employees Employees will have an opportunity to earn as they learn in a permanent fulltime job, receive a transition to practice training plan that clearly defines the competencies required to succeed on the job, and access to career coaching and social supports as necessary.