BRATTLEBORO — Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) will provide a direct pathway to hospital jobs in environmental services.
At a recent graduation ceremony at BMH, nine participants in the new Environmental Services Training Program received certificates. Eight have been offered employment at the hospital.
The program, developed in response to a critical need for qualified staff, is the result of a collaboration led by CCV and BMH which also includes the Vermont Department of Labor, the Vermont Association of Business Industry and Rehabilitation (VABIR), Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), and Creative Workforce Solutions.
Bill Norwood, BMH's vice president of human resources, said in a news release that the hospital community is proud to be part of this partnership.
The training opportunities “will allow people in the area to increase their skills, improve their job prospects, and become a part of a team that aims at career growth,” he said.
The nine-week training included five weeks of paid on-site work experience at the hospital, and those who have completed the training have been offered full-time, part-time, or per diem employment.
A number of participants also earned CCV credits, an OSHA certification, the Governor's Career Readiness Certificate, and training in infection control.
According to CCV president Joyce Judy, the college and BMH “worked together to train employees in some of their highest need departments, and this has a powerful impact for students, for the hospital, and for the greater community.”
CCV and BMH have worked since 2014 to provide training for medical assistants. The College to Careers program allows students to earn their Clinical Medical Assistant certification in 14 weeks, with guaranteed employment at the hospital upon successful completion of the course. The program's third student cohort will finish training in December.