The Healthcare Careers Collaborative (HCC) is an employer-led initiative, representing 50 percent of heath care employment in the region, designed to address the sector’s labor and skill shortages by providing opportunities for low-income incumbent workers and new entrants. HCC’s mission is to “provide access to health care careers to underutilized labor pools, including lower-wage incumbent workers and unemployed or underemployed individuals; alleviate regional health care workforce shortages; and increase the diversity of the heath care workforce in Greater Cincinnati.”
HCC uses the following key strategies:
- The development of career pathways composed of entry-level certificates (e.g. Patient Care Assistant, State Tested Nursing Assistant, Health Unit Coordinator), advanced certificates (e.g. Practical Nursing, Medical Assisting), and associate degrees in patient care and allied health discipline.
- Cohort-based instruction, which has a strong positive influence on retention.
- Remedial courses (both hard and soft skills), called “Learning Community” courses, that range from college math and introductory chemistry to “professionalism in health care”.
- Training delivered close to or at the employment site.
The target population of HCC is low-skilled incumbent health care workers and unemployed and underemployed new entrants. Incumbent workers will receive priority.