CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS), in partnership with the Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming Healthcare Training Centers announced today a new training course that aims to help fill the shortage of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) in Wyoming. Wyoming Healthcare Training Centers will be offering the hybrid course to train candidates to fill CNA openings across Wyoming. The course is partially funded by the DWS Workforce Development Training Fund (WDTF) and approved by the Wyoming Department of Health. The program intends to help long-term care facilities meet the current shortage of healthcare workers.
“We’re pleased to support a program that will directly help folks looking to enter the high-demand healthcare field,” said DWS Director Robin Sessions Cooley. “The program put together by Wyoming Healthcare Training Centers will be key in filling these jobs across Wyoming, and will provide jobseekers with access to training at little or no cost.”
The training, which meets federal curriculum guidelines, can be conducted online, with hands-on portions of the instruction at a clinic that is partnering with Wyoming Healthcare Training Centers. Candidates may sit for the national exam and apply for CNA positions in long term care, hospitals, home health and the VA system. Dr. Jennifer Burns, the developer of the program and a doctoral trained nurse of thirty years, said she has a passion for teaching nursing foundations and is “especially pleased to collaborate with DWS on this opportunity.”
The Workforce Development Training Fund (WDTF) is a unique Wyoming-based program that connects business’ workforces with professional development opportunities to increase employee skill attainment and, as a result, overall business productivity. The program’s aim is to create more production for the business in upskilling its workers so the business gains more profits, which creates more opportunities for the workforce.
Last fall, the WDTF program was pleased to partner with the University of Wyoming to offer free construction workforce training through the UW College of Engineering and Applied Science, a unique and exciting opportunity through the Fund. Construction businesses were able enroll their employees in any of the five online modules offered which included construction site management, construction facility management and construction estimation.
The WDTF offers a variety of grants and internships to support Wyoming businesses. For more information about the fund, please call (307) 777-8717.