In cooperation with LifePath and through a Commonwealth Corporation Workforce Competitive Trust Fund award, MassHire Franklin Hampshire is leading a new Rural Healthcare Workforce Training Initiative.

LifePath, is offering a paid 6-week, full-time Rural Healthcare Workforce Training Program. Participants earn $18.50/hour while they train, and completion may lead to employment opportunities. This opportunity supports an Age & Dementia Friendly community by helping older adults access meaningful employment while strengthening the rural healthcare and human services workforce.

MassHire Franklin Hampshire leads the first layer: workforce readiness. That means practical skills like digital literacy, professional communication, email etiquette, customer service, cultural sensitivity, and OSHA training. These trainings were carefully selected because they are the foundation that helps someone not just get a job but succeed and grow in it.

LifePath contributes the second layer: healthcare work readiness. We’ll review health insurance and how it works, medical terminology, HIPAA and information control, and support electronic medical record training. I spent decades working in healthcare settings and I know how intimidating the work can feel to someone on the outside. Our modules are designed to remove that intimidation by giving participants the vocabulary, structure, and context they need to confidently walk through the door and enter these roles.

The third layer is where it all comes together. Our first employer partners for this initiative are Community Health Center of Franklin County and Baystate Franklin Medical Center. They will provide on-the-job training directly in the settings where participants will actually work. That includes new employee orientation, site-specific learning, advanced medical terminology, and training on their specific electronic health records platforms. Another positive aspect for this program’s participants is real, hands-on practice and experience at the worksites.

This training is just the beginning. After the six weeks, participants move directly into positions at our partnering employers, where they have been training alongside their new colleagues, ready to start their new career, and ready to serve their patients.

To promote or learn more, see the flier from MassHire here.