working multiple jobs to make ends meet ... More education,

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A national program of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, in collaboration with The Hitachi
Foundation and the United States Department of
Labor Employment and Training Administration

• What Women Want.Achieving the Dream of Family
  Sustainable Careers

NAPE/Women Work Conference April 7, 2008
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Why Focus on Frontline Workers?

• Demand for frontline workers in healthcare
• In the top ten fastest growing occupations listed
  by BLS
• 50 are for frontline workers- staggering
  numbers
• Personal Care Aides 50.6
• Home health aides 48.7 .
• Medical assistants 35.4
• Substance abuse and behavioral disorder
  counselors 34.3
• Physical therapist assistants 32.4
• Bureau of Labor Statistics US Dept of Labor
• Aging of baby boomers and longer life
  expectancies will generate demand for labor
  specifically in the health and elder care field.
  Will be difficult to meet that demand.

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Supply of Frontline Workers

• Current supply of frontline workers in
  healthcare
• Composition of the workforce
• mainly female
• many non-English speakers
• only some with high school diplomas, almost none
  with post-secondary education
• working multiple jobs to make ends meet
• Relegated to low-wage, low-opportunity jobs with
  little access
• to training and retraining
• Turnover rates for frontline workers are 40-90
  annually
• Avg 10 months with an employer
• turnover costs huge
• Median starting wage of frontline worker 7.96
• Working Poor
• Limited advancement prospects

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Resulting Labor Shortage

• Complicated issue for frontline workers
• Demand is outstripping supply
• The supply available is devalued, underpaid, and
  inadequately trained
• What is needed?
• More education, better skills, better access to
  good jobs, better supports and better pay.
• Strategies to support career pathways in this
  sector are critical to the current and future
  health of the American people, as well as the
  economic vitality of the United States.

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Vision of Jobs to Careers

• 1st Prepare people to succeed, by investing in
  human capital (specifically the frontline
  worker)
• Continuing education and training -development of
  core academic, technical and employability skills
• Coaching
• Post-secondary education credentials
• 2nd Create career paths and advancement
  strategies
• Vertical and horizontal movement in a career
  field
• 3rd Prepare for jobs that will pay enough to
  support a family
• Placement in high-demand/high-opportunity jobs
• 4th Make it accessible
• Many frontline workers have to juggle numerous
  family and job demands making it difficult to
  access traditional educational opportunities

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What makes Jobs to Careers so Unique?

• Partnerships
• Employee
• Education Employer
  Partner Partner

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What makes Jobs to Careers so Unique?

• Career Paths
• Create sequences of jobs that gradually move
  employees from entry level jobs that pay poorly
  to jobs with higher skill requirements that pay
  substantially more and are considered a promotion

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What makes Jobs to Careers so Unique?

• Work-Based Learning
• Views learning as acquired in the midst of work
  and dedicated to the task at hand
• Learning is at the workplace, during work hours,
  and will lead to academic credits/credential
• Creates opportunities for workers who cannot
  access traditional educational paths for reasons
  that may include
• Limited time
• Inability to forgo income when returning to
  school
• Limited basic skills
• Previous difficulty with formal education

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A Working Example Site in Action

• In Owensboro, Kentucky one of our 17
• Sites
• Collaboration between a community/ technical
  college and a hospital
• Addressing nursing shortage crisis

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Barriers to Success

• Too Few Slots
• Too Few Educators
• Underprepared/Under-skilled Students
• Imperfect Academic Performance Records
• Policy Vs. Preference
• Lock-out Delivery System
• Student Need For Full Time Job, Wages And
  Benefits
• System built for traditional students

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OCTC_at_OMHS

• Growing Nursing Professionals Through a Community
  Partnership

OCTC_at_OMHS
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Why a Community Partnership?

• Economic Development Corporation
• Growing industries with family wage sustaining
  jobs
• Owensboro Medical Health System
• Filling need for 530 RNs
• Owensboro Community Technical College
• Responding to workforce development challenges

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Program Design Features

• Hybrid Accelerated Delivery System
• Weekend, evening and online
• Completion in 2 ½ years
• Course delivered at worksite whenever possible
• Employee Supports
• Paid educational release (eight hours/period)
• Paid tuition and all expenses beyond
• Uniforms, stethoscopes, ACT prep/tests, CNET,
  certifications, books, ATI exam, more
• On-site success coach and program advisor

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Curriculum

• Contextualization and/or Modularization
  Relevance, Flexibility, Progression
• Student Plans Based On Individual Entry Points
• Work-based Learning

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Progress To Date Next Steps

• Cohort 1
• Participants are currently enrolled in second
  nursing class and on track to graduate in Spring
  2009
• Cohort 2
• Participants are enrolled in contextualized
  general education classes and will begin the
  first nursing course in Fall 2008
• Cohort 3
• Prospective participants will soon go through the
  selections process and will begin classes in
  January 2009

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Summary

• So, what is the aha about this program?

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Work-Based Learning

• Work-based learning is an approach to adult
  education that emphasizes the employee as learner
  and the work process itself as a source of
  learning

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Owensboro Model for Implementing WBL

• Hybrid courses
• Alternative delivery systems
• On-site access
• Cohort model
• System changes

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Replicable Aspects of Owensboros WBL Approach

• Accelerated Learning
• Cohort Nurturing
• Work Based Learning Portfolio
• Contextualized curriculum
• Reflective learning circles
• Career coaching
• Journaling

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Contacts
Mary Culhane, Technical Assistance Provider to
Owensboro Vice President of Workforce
Services WorkSource Partners, Inc. 1 Harvard
Street, Suite 200 Brookline, Ma
02445 617-232-0330 X 131 Mculhane_at_worksourcepartne
rs.com

• Cindy Fiorella, Vice President
• Workforce and Economic Development
• Owensboro Community and Technical
• College
• 1501 Frederica Street
• Owensboro, KY 42301
• 270-686-4445
• cindy.fiorella_at_kcts.edu
• Rebecca Starr, Deputy Director
• Jobs to Careers National Program Office
• Jobs for the Future
• 88 Broad Street
• Boston, MA 02110
• 617-728-4446 ext. 136
• www.jobs2careers.org

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Q A