January 24, 2007 – PHI will provide technical support and training to a three-year program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to expand the Health Support Specialist (HSS) apprenticeship program developed by the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The DOL’s $1.6 million grant to North Central Kansas Technical College will fund the The Golden Horizons Career Works Nursing Home Apprenticeship Program, providing a career path for universal workers in nursing homes. The apprenticeship includes training in culture change.

Participating employers will be supported by a team that includes area Workforce Investment Boards and the PHI, which will work with the technical college and Golden Gate to include its peer mentoring curriculum and adult learner-centered training approaches in the HSS apprenticeship. The major employer participating in the program is Golden Gate National Senior Care, the nursing home chain formerly known as Beverly.

In the first year of the grant, Golden Gate will implement the apprenticeship in 24 facilities in Kansas and Missouri. In the second year, the program will be expanded to 37 additional sites, including 6 in Michigan.

The project is part of a new set of community-based job training grants awarded last month by the U.S. Department of Labor. In a press release announcing the grants, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco said they “recall the imperative that businesses and the workforce system team up with their region’s community colleges to ensure that workers are armed with the right skills to thrive in the 21st century economy.”