The Department of Labor (DoL) has awarded 55 employment and training grants in health care and other high-growth sectors — 14 of which are for training for jobs in long-term care.

This final round of DoL employment and training grants — funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — total $225 million. Each award ranges from $2 million to $5 million and will support training and education for 47,000 people, nearly 13,000 of whom will train for jobs in long-term care.

“Investing training resources to expand access to jobs in the long-term care sector is a ‘win-win’ — both for the countless consumers who need well-trained workers to address their need for support and services and for our nation’s unemployed seeking meaningful work,” said Peggy Powell, PHI national director of curriculum and workforce development.

The latest employment projections for direct-care workers call for an additional 1.1 million new positions by 2018.

Additional Investment Necessary

“While good training is critical for preparing workers to enter this high-demand occupation, policymakers must take the next steps to improve wages, ensure health coverage, and provide meaningful opportunities for career advancement,” said PHI national policy director Steve Edelstein.

“Without these additional investments, we will struggle to keep up on a recruitment treadmill that is constantly increasing speed, as workers churn in and out of these jobs and demand for workers grows,” he said.

Targeted Training

The grants have been awarded to community colleges, community-based organizations, state workforce agencies, and other public entities to provide training for employment in a range of health care fields, including long-term care, as well as other growing industries. Projects funded through the grants will be conducted in partnership with the public workforce system, businesses, and other organizations.

Dislocated, unemployed, and unskilled workers, including veterans and military personnel, entry-level service and maintenance workers, and automotive workers, are among those targeted to be trained to become direct-care workers in long-term care settings.

The project goals vary and include training to become home health aides, certified nursing assistants, and home care and personal care aides; developing of curricula, best practices, and career lattices; awarding tuition support for career advancement and job placement services; and providing support services such as transportation and child care.

Projects Funded

The University of New Hampshire, a grantee, has received nearly $3 million to work in partnership with PHI and several other organizations to provide support and training to unemployed and dislocated workers for direct-care careers in home and community-based settings.

The awards were announced on February 12, a few days shy of the one-year anniversary since President Obama signed the ARRA into law. This award cycle brings the total of ARRA-funded training grants to $750 million.

Funded project grant summaries (pdf) are available on the DoL website.

– by Deane Beebe