QCC, MWCC receive $243K for healthcare and IT workforce development

Photo | Courtesy of Mount Wachusett Community College Mount Wachusett Community College campus in Gardner

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Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester have received a combined $242,799 to support workforce training programs, as part of a wider $1.5-million grant to 13 Massachusetts community colleges.

The grants, issued by the Gov. Maura Healey Administration, aim to assist community colleges with training adults who are looking to enter or re-enter the workforce, according to a press release issued by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education on March 7. The grants are part of the Training Resources And Internships Network, which is designed to address the skills development needs of long-term unemployed, underemployed, and new entrant adults in the state.

Mount Wachusett received $142,799 to support an initiative to provide certified nursing assistants and students studying information technology with training.

The grant will allow 30 CNA students to complete 30 hours of clinical experience to help prepare them for the CNA licensure exam. A cohort of 10 students studying IT will enroll in a Google IT certificate program that will help prepare them for a certification exam.

“TRAIN grants are a proven avenue for scaling up workforce training programs and we are pleased to see continued investments,” MWCC President Jim Vander Hooven said in the Department of Higher Education press release.

The grant received by QCC, totalling $100,000, will be used to recruit and enroll 30 individuals from the Worcester and Southbridge areas in the college’s home health aide training program. Recruitment will focus on underemployed and unemployed individuals and populations historically encountering barriers to employment, including veterans, people of color, and people with disabilities. Classes will be taught in English and Spanish.

“Offering these types of programs that support our underprivileged and underserved populations enriches the lives of the participants and their families, while also helping our economy to thrive,” QCC President Luis Pedraja, said in a Tuesday press release from QCC announcing the grant.