Jobs to Careers

Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality Care

Helps frontline health care workers access the skills and credential opportunities they need to advance their careers—at little to no cost to the workers.

Create lasting improvements in the way institutions train and advance their frontline workers; and Test new models of education and training that incorporate work-based learning, which represents a novel approach to meeting labor force needs in health care as well as in other fields.

Sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in collaboration with The Hitachi Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Key Components

Work-based learning is a key component of an overall skill-building strategy that may also include an array of other learning approaches, such as more traditional off-site, on-site, technology-enabled, or experience-based learning.
Career paths are developed and readily available to frontline workers.
The employer and education partners develop and implement changes that recognize the needs of working adults and that improve access to and success in skill-building efforts by frontline workers.
Frontline workers are recognized and rewarded as they build skills and expand knowledge necessary for their current job responsibilities or for advancing to new positions

Mississippi Initiative

The MS Office of Nursing Workforce (ONW), Central Mississippi Medical Center (CMMC) and Hinds Community College (HCC), Southwest MS Regional Medical Center (SWMRMC), and Southwest MS Community College (SWMCC) comprise the partnership to develop, implement and evaluate the Mississippi Jobs to Careers Initiative (Initiative). The partners identified frontline employees at their facilities to participate in the work-based training.

Our first Initiative was with CMMC and HCC. CMMC employees were given the opportunity to apply for the work-based training for unit secretaries. Hinds Community College developed new curriculum for the unit secretary position and provided appropriate faculty to teach the content.

SWMRMC in partnership with SWMCC implemented classes designed to build the skills of their employees in teamwork, conflict management, communication, time management, presentations, interview skills, and meeting participation. The community college in collaboration with ONW and SWMRMC developed the curriculum to broaden and enhance the skills of the frontline workers.