The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Officials unveil healthcare apprenticeship program
State and local officials kick off a new Healthcare Apprenticeship Pathway Program to add experience to credentials.
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner joined Lorain County Community College staff at its University Partnership Ridge Campus, 32121 Lorain Road in North Ridgeville, Sept. 10 as a kick-off for its new Healthcare Apprenticeship Pathway Program.
This new program offers apprenticeship opportunities for regional health care employers and employees starting with STNA (state tested nursing assistants) positions.
“This is one of the most highly affordable models to attract and grow talent, and today, we are talking about the health care industry,” said LCCC President Marcia Ballinger. “Traditionally, you don’t think about health care and other career fields, like I.T., as being part of an apprenticeship program.
“That’s part of the innovations Ohio is forging ahead.”
Ballinger said the goal is for LCCC students to earn money while they learn.
“The apprenticeship program at community colleges have historically been focused on manufacturing, and we will continue to do that,” she said. “Recently, Lorain County Community College was awarded $12 million from the [U.S.] Department of Labor ... to bring federal dollars and funds back to Ohio to scale up apprenticeships.
“Areas that we will be scaling up those apprenticeships are in health care, I.T. and advanced manufacturing. Ohio has a goal of 65 percent of Ohioans having a recognized credential or degree in five years, by 2025.
“Our local goal, to help meet that statewide goal ... is 10,000 by 2025.”
Kathryn Brod, president and CEO of LeadingAge Ohio, a nonprofit trade association that represents long-term care organizations and hospices, as well as those providing ancillary health care and housing services, said the apprenticeship is great for both the students and the organizations.
“These [apprenticeships] are for those who touch the lives of those that we serve every day,” Brod said.
Other long-term care providers have positions open, she said.
“Not only is it difficult to recruit, but it’s difficult to retain this position,” Brod said. “This apprenticeship is a way to demonstrate to the individual (student) your organization is committed to them.
“By providing this apprenticeship, they are able to enter your organization with on-the-job training and gain college credit ... and not on their dime, actually not our your [organization’s] dime either, but with the Department of Labor funds that Dr. Ballinger described.”
Ohio budget Gardner said the announcement of the apprenticeship program is a celebration of what can be done in Ohio.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of an administration that’s so focused on the things [in higher education] you are doing ... with the partnerships in the allied health areas that can really make a difference,” he said. “I also want to thank the legislatures.
“I have been in Columbus for a few years, 16 state budgets I’ve seen, and I truly believe this is the most student-focused state budget I’ve seen in that time and the most for workforce preparation. This [apprenticeship program] isn’t just something we can do eventually that help Ohio’s economy; it can help us right now.”
Husted said he believes Ohio community colleges are leading the effort to form partnerships with industries.
“The economy is changing so fast ... and education, traditionally, has not changed at the same pace,” he said. “As a result, the students and adults are unprepared for the opportunities that are out there.
“What community colleges are doing is very important
“The states that get this right, this pathway between employees, stackable credentials, college credits ... the states that get this right, will be the ones that prosper.” — Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted
to the solution. There are more jobs being created every month than we have people to fill them.
“Supplying the talent is the one thing we always have to prove. In health care, these jobs are going to be here for a long time.”
Husted said the big thing LCCC is doing is creating career pathways.
“What I love about what you are doing here today is the career pathway,” he said. “Students start somewhere they’re getting their credential or a degree and then you can work, gain some experience, continue to improve your skills to increase your value in the marketplace.
“This makes college and apprenticeships merge to be one in the same. These are available and that’s what we have to open people’s eyes; the programs that are available at Lorain County Community College.
“The states that get this right, this pathway between employees, stackable credentials, college credits ... the states that get this right, will be the ones that prosper.”