On Aug. 3, 2020, Gov. John Carney signed Executive Order #43 (E043) creating the Rapid Workforce Training and Redeployment Initiative to assist Delaware workers and their families who have lost jobs and income due to the COVID-19 crisis. Delaware Technical Community College was awarded the statewide grant for free healthcare training and started classes in October 2020.
“It was important to the college to react to the governor’s order quickly and provide the type of high-quality training many Delawareans and the workforce needed,” said Paul Morris, associate vice president of Workforce Development and Community Education.
The initiative has provided certificate training for 370 Delawareans in the following 11 different short-term health care programs: certified nursing assistant, patient care technician, certified medical administrative assistant, hemodialysis technician, pharmacy technician, phlebotomy technician, dental assistant, medical assistant, medical insurance billing, ophthalmic assistant, and home health aide.
Delaware Tech offered seven of the programs statewide at the college’s four campuses across the state. The college also worked with Polytech Adult Education in Kent County and Sussex Tech Adult Education in Sussex County as subcontractors to offer the remaining four programs. All programs will be finished by the end of March 2021.
“All of our graduates from this initiative will be highly trained and skilled and prepared to enter the workforce immediately,” Morris said. “We are actively connecting these individuals with local employers.”
The Delaware Office of Work-Based Learning (DOWBL) is taking the lead on employer engagement and helping facilitate job-placement for program graduates. Interested employers should contact the DOWBL to request a link to the Healthcare Employer Survey which helps the DOWBL identify the greatest needs and connect program graduates with employers.
If you are an employer interested in more information, email Bryan Horsey, director of DOWBL, at bhorsey7@dtcc.edu or visit deowbl.org.
