The Department of Labor announced at the end of December that 18 colleges in 14 states had been awarded a total of $65 million in grants. Those grants are intended to support programs that help community colleges scale affordable, high-quality workforce training to meet employers’ and workers’ skill development needs in critical industry sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, semiconductors and biotechnology, according to a press release.
One of the grants totaling $5.7 million was awarded to Ozarks Technical Community College (Ozarks Tech), the college announced Tuesday. Ozarks Tech is the only awardee in Missouri.
“Ozarks Tech is known for our leadership in high-quality workforce development, and we are proud to be included in this select group of recipients from across the country,” said Ozarks Tech Chancellor Hal Higdon in a statement. “It is an honor to be recognized and entrusted with this award to continue to better serve the students and employers of this region.”
The grant provides significant funds that will enable Ozarks Tech to expand training programs in health care – a high-wage, high-demand field in southwest Missouri with a critical need for trained workers, according to the college. The funds will be used to create pathways to health care education that will serve high school students, underemployed or unemployed individuals and those seeking to transition into or advance within the health care profession. They will also provide tuition assistance to participants and help offset health care program costs.
In addition, the grant will help expand facilities at the Alliance for Healthcare Education building and will integrate simulation technology for greater health care instruction. The plans include a 12-bed skilled nursing lab, an additional radiology room and ultrasound room and other needed educational equipment. The Alliance mission, of which Ozarks Tech is a founding partner with Springfield Public Schools, CoxHealth and Missouri State University, is to create a sustainable pipeline of health care workers for decades to come.
According to the Missouri Hospital Association’s 2024 Workforce Report for the Ozark Region, professions such as nursing (both registered and licensed practical nurses), radiography and sonography experience high vacancy and turnover rates in the area. By the end of this four-year grant, Ozarks Tech anticipates there will be nearly 3,500 trained individuals to help meet area workforce needs, including licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, radiology technicians, sonographers, emergency medical technicians and certified nursing assistants.
As part of Ozarks Tech’s grant application, a consortium of other partners will also collaborate in the activities, including:
· Missouri State University
· Ozark Region Workforce Development Board
· Springfield Public Schools
· Community Partnership of the Ozarks
· Missouri Nursing Association
· Missouri Hospital Association
· CoxHealth
· Mercy Hospital
· Lake Regional Health Systems
· Alliance for Healthcare Education
“As Ozarks Tech continues to lead the way in health care education, there’s always the conversation of how to best fund the work we need to do for the benefit of our region,” said Paula Adams, chair of the Ozarks Tech Board of Trustees, in a statement. “We’re very grateful to the U.S. Department of Labor for making this investment in our institution and supporting the impact we will continue to make on workforce training.”