Angelina College to Provide Training in Needed Areas
In April of 2024, Angelina College and Wells LTC Nursing & Rehabilitation located in Wells, Texas partnered to upskill a select group of long-term care employees through the Texas Workforce Commission’s Skills for Small Business (SSB) grant program. The purpose of the program is for qualifying small businesses with less than 100 employees to enhance their business operations by obtaining the training needed to upskill their new and incumbent full-time employees. All training must be provided by a public community or technical college.
As a result, $7,620 was awarded in SSB grant funds for 12 employees to be trained as nurse aides and medication aides through Angelina College. The employees are completing their training in a hybrid format where their coursework is delivered asynchronously online and their clinicals take place at PineCrest Retirement Community and Wells LTC Nursing & Rehabilitation.
Kathleen Mitchell, Administrator of the Wells facility, said grants and partnerships is important for both current and future staff members.
“It’s a great program,” Mitchell said. “One of the most important parts is that it will help some of our employees who don’t have certain certifications to earn the qualifications allowing them to move up within the health care industry.
“The ‘Med-Aid’ class will help with the certified nurse assistants (CNA) we already have to be able to work in either area. They would be more flexible, especially considering the current staffing issues industry-wide. Taking the people we currently have and giving them something more not only will help those individuals, but it will also help the entire health-care industry as a whole.”
Mitchell added such a partnership will also serve notice to future prospective employees that the Wells facility will continue seeking to serve its employees’ professional goals.
“We’re hoping this will help bring in new members,” Mitchell said. “We have a lot of long-term staff here, but the turnover usually occurs with our short-term staff. This program will allow us to bring in and retain those new members so we can help generate more longevity among all our staff.”
Angelina College offers programs that lead to industry-recognized certifications in high-demand career field areas, such as healthcare, business, industry, and public safety. Grant funding is available to individuals and businesses that qualify.
Those interested in applying for the SSB grant or enrolling in a program that leads to a high-demand career field may contact the Angelina College Workforce & Continuing Education division at wce@angelina.edu or call (936) 633-3217.
