MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board was recently awarded $381,000 for healthcare training initiatives throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. MassHire Greater New Bedford, with support from MassHire Southeast Region 6 Workforce Board partners, will provide cohort-based training for the direct care occupations of Nursing Assistant, Home Health Aide, and Medical Assistant and include a customized workshop in cultural competency. Sixty-three Southeastern Massachusetts residents will gain entry level training. An additional 199 employed healthcare workers will benefit from cohort or workshop training over two years. The training for incumbent workers will focus on cultural competency and leadership development based on substantive surveys conducted throughout the region.
Dave Slutz, MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Development Board Chair, stated, “This is a great opportunity for our Workforce Board to work closely with our three regional Workforce Boards to deliver entry level healthcare training and address longstanding labor shortages and skill gaps brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This effort is intended to be part of a broader goal of developing a strong collaborative effort between workforce development agencies, healthcare employers, and educators that will last and evolve beyond the scope of this grant initiative.
MassHire Southeast Region 6 Career Centers will commence recruitment for these free training programs this summer with the first cohort starting in mid-September. Unemployed persons or healthcare employers interested in participating should contact Jacqueline Sylvia at (508) 979-1504 extension 116 or email jacqueline@mhgnb.com for information.
This project is funded by a Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grant (Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund FY’20 Appropriation) through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and is administered by the Commonwealth Corporation.
Mr. Slutz added, “This healthcare effort is part of MassHire Greater New Bedford’s strategy to attract grant funding for other key training initiatives.”
In other priority sectors, MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board has acquired grant funds close to $2 million for workforce training initiatives including training for manufacturing, maritime, apprenticeships, and youth career programs, and is pursuing new funding for training in emerging industries such as offshore wind and cyber security.
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