Industry Training Initiative Offers Healthcare, Water Systems, and Advanced Manufacturing Cohorts
December 1, 2022
To provide a pool of qualified job seekers to meet the workforce needs of high-demand industries in Pierce County, WorkForce Central is investing in a series of Industry Training Programs, with three already up and running.
Our Business Solutions Team is building a strong pool of technical training providers to deliver employer-driven, rapid reskill and upskill cohort trainings to build the talent pipeline in high-demand occupations.
The first cohort started in April 2022 with the Introduction to Healthcare Employment & Apprenticeship Training Program. This two-phase employment program is a partnership of WorkForce Central, the City of Tacoma, Health Care Apprenticeship Consortium, Seattle Jobs Initiative, and the Tacoma Housing Authority. The program offers paid training while preparing for a living-wage career pathway into the healthcare sector. The first phase provides education on how to work in the medical industry. The second phase prepares participants for the Nursing Assistant Certification (NA-C or CNA) exam, which will open the door to many opportunities in healthcare. Classes are taught online with in-person labs, giving them the flexibility to learn from wherever they have internet access and also participate in hands-on learning activities. To date, 18 individuals have completed both phases of the training. The next step will be for individuals to complete their certification and move on to gainful employment with local healthcare providers.
In June 2022, we partnered with RAIN Incubator on Waterversity, a water system operator training program. This career technical education program teaches essential skills and places graduates on the path to being recognized as Operators in Training in the Water Resource and Recovery Industry. In the first two cohorts this year, 46 students participated, with three already moving on to employment. A third cohort is currently running, and a fourth cohort will start in mid-January.
AJAC’s Manufacturing Academy is the third industry training we are supporting in Pierce County. This partnership started in September 2022, and a new cohort will begin in January 2023. Manufacturing Academy builds foundational career pathways into aerospace and advanced manufacturing employment and apprenticeship opportunities. This pre-apprenticeship program offers training to develop manufacturing skills for students who go on to earn an industry-recognized certification. The Manufacturing Academy program prepares students for living-wage positions throughout Pierce County in assembly, production, processing, machine automation, machine operations, and maintenance.
Learn more about the Industry Training Programs on the WorkSource Pierce website.
