Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities (FHEO) Program offers free job training and tuition for Dislocated Workers interested in Health Care careers

Job Training & Tuition Available Now for Dislocated Workers Interested in Healthcare

On June 30, 2008, the United States Department of Labor announced a $2 million grant to Michigan to train 400 dislocated workers for healthcare jobs. 250 of those workers will be trained by the Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities (FHEO) Program, a unique six-year old sector workforce development program of the Greater Flint Health Coalition. Sector workforce development programs focus on a
specific industry, in this case healthcare, where employers direct and manage the program.

Recruitment of dislocated workers has begun for the FHEO Program, which assists Genesee County residents in obtaining educational and employment opportunities in the healthcare industry. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a dislocated worker includes (but is not limited to) an individual who: has been terminated or laid off; has exhausted unemployment insurance; works at a facility that will close
within 180 days; was self-employed but is currently unemployed; or is a displaced homemaker.

What will a dislocated worker receive under the FHEO Program?

A dislocated worker, who during a two-month period, will complete a healthcare career assessment and training process consisting of the following components:

  • Skills Assessment including Reading and Math
  • Suitability to Health Care Assessment
  • Healthcare Career Exploration
  • Skills for Returning to College Workshop
  • Personal Finance Workshop
  • Resume, Interview, and Presentation Skills Training
  • Developmental Classes to promote Successful Job Performance
  • Individualized Educational/Career Development Plan
  • All participants are eligible for support services (e.g. child care, transportation, case management, etc.) during this training

What is the career path?

After this two-month training, most dislocated workers will move on to college-level “classroom training” to pursue one of the following healthcare careers:

  • Registered Nurse
  • License Practical Nurses
  • Radiological Technologist
  • Medical Biller
  • Pharmacy Technician
  • Health Unit Coordinator
  • Medical Assistant
  • Dental Assistant
  • Dental Hygienist
  • Other in-demand healthcare career

Tuition, fees, and textbooks will be supported through funding from No Worker Left Behind, Career Alliance, and U.S. Department of Labor.

The Greater Flint Health Coalition is a non-profit 501(c)3 Michigan organization established in 1992 whose mission is to improve the health status of Genesee County (Michigan) residents and to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the County’s healthcare delivery system. The Coalition is both, a community/institutional partnership and a multifaceted collaboration with a Board of Directors that broadly reflects the community and its leadership – government, hospitals, labor, business, insurers, physicians, the educational system, consumers, and faith-based organizations. The Greater Flint Health Coalition Board of Directors is chaired by Michigan State Senator Deborah Cherry.

Coalition President & CEO Stephen Skorcz states, “this grant is proof that the hard work of the Coalition is one of Flint’s unique success stories during this difficult time in Michigan.”