CC389302260A36

Award Purpose

Community colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system will play a primary role in addressing this challenge. Partners propose a five-part plan to strengthen career pathways in HCSA careers to meet this need. Partners will:

1. Form a HCSA Community of Practice
2. Formalize a cross-regional employer engagement team leveraging existing strategic employer partners
3. Pilot and recommend for adoption Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) to accelerate HCSA pathways
4. Develop agreements to create stackable credentials and enhance and accelerate HCSA pathway programs
5. Introduce evidence-based, equity- and industry-informed HCSA pathway recruitment materials, resources, and career selection supports with public workforce and employer partners to close equity gaps in the number of low-income individuals and marginalized populations entering and completing HCSA pathway programs and earning industry-recognized credentials leading to HCSA employment to increase equity and effect sustainable systems change.

Activities Performed

By the end of the grant, partners will have:

1. Formed a SUNY Health Care and Social Assistance (HCSA) Pathways Community of Practice (COP) to facilitate cross-regional professional development, coordinate planning, and innovate and scale HCSA career pathway programs and acceleration strategies.
2. Formalized a cross-regional employer leadership team to facilitate employer engagement as strategic partners in HCSA pathway development, recruitment, acceleration strategies, apprenticeships, earn+learn, career entry/advancement.
3. Developed, piloted, and recommended for adoption Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) tools, methods, credit values, and informational materials to accelerate pathway entry and completion.
4. Developed HCSA pathway agreements to articulate, jointly develop, deliver stackable, accelerated pathways within/across colleges leading to targeted HCSA careers; integrate earn-and-learn paths, technology-based resources to expand access to programs, diversity of learning experiences.
5. Developed and integrated equity- and industry-informed, customer-centered HCSA pathway recruitment, onboarding, and career pathway selection resources and supports with public workforce partners, unions, and employers.

Deliverables

Capacity Building Outcome 1: Develop, pilot, recommend for adoption common PLA tools, methods of assessment, and credit values to be awarded by consortium colleges for targeted HCSA career pathway programs and for consideration by other SUNY colleges to promote transparency, portability, equity, and accelerated entry/advancement in HCSA career paths.
Capacity Building Outcome 2: New stackable pathways established via agreements to articulate, embed, or jointly develop or deliver industry-recognized credentials or facilitate shared development of resources to accelerate pathways and increase access to HCSA programs, courses, credentials, experiences using multiple modalities and technologies, such as virtual reality.
Capacity Building Outcome 3: Structured, evidence-based, equity- and industry-informed, "customer-centered" career pathway recruitment, onboarding pathway selection resources and supports will be developed and piloted by consortium colleges with involvement by employers, public workforce, and non-profit partners.
Equity Outcome 1: Increase the number of low-income individuals (including new workers, low-wage incumbent workers, and URM populations) enrolled in industry-recognized, stackable health care and social assistance career pathway programs across.
Equity Outcome 2: Increase the percentage of low-income students enrolled in pathway programs who complete programs, including apprenticeships, short-term credentials, and associate degree programs, and other industry-recognized credentials required for targeted jobs.

Intended Beneficiary

New entrants, unemployed/dislocated workers, entry-level incumbent workers, pre-apprentices, apprentices, low-income individuals, and underrepresented minorities.

Subrecipient Activities

The consortium includes one community college lead applicant and 10 community college sub-recipients. All will contribute to the Community of Practice (COP) and participate in cross-regional professional development and planning. All will contribute to cross-regional employer engagement to support the sector strategy, HCSA program pathways, jobseekers, workers, students. Each will collaborate to develop and implement at least one of three primary pathway acceleration/retention strategies and accelerate or enhance at least one of the consortium's targeted HCSA career pathway programs. In addition, one community college subrecipient will lead the Prior Learning Assessment COP workgroup, and one community college subrecipient will lead the HCSA apprenticeship and earn+learn COP workgroup.

Onondaga Community College

17.261 - WIOA Pilots, Demonstrations, and Research Projects

Employment and Training Administration (ETA) [DOL]

Office of Workforce Investment [DOL - ETA]

New York United States

State-Wide

A-CC-22-001