FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2021
PRESS RELEASE
EMPLOY PRINCE GEORGE’S FREE NURSING ASSISTANT TRAINING INITIATIVE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND IMMIGRANTS
LARGO, MD (March 21, 2022) – Employ Prince George's (EPG), the premier workforce development entity of Prince George's County, announced a nursing assistant training program in partnership with Heritage Care Inc. and Prince George's County Community College through EPG's Career Pathways For All Program (CPFA). The Career Pathways For All Program will offer personalized career coaching, occupational skills training, evaluation of credentials obtained overseas, Bi-lingual hiring events, language translation phone lines in American Job Centers in Prince George's County, and access to English Remediation Classes. This specific partnership with Heritage Care Inc., a Hyattsville, Maryland nonprofit that provides community services in healthcare and education, will connect Prince George's County's immigrant population to training and job placement assistance to become certified nursing assistants and geriatric nursing assistants.
CNN projects a shortage of 95,000 Nursing Assistants by 2025. While the lack of healthcare professionals is a nationwide problem, Maryland has an especially acute problem with its growing retirement-age population. That means that thousands of positions will remain unfilled in the Prince George's County region. The CNA/GNA Training program participants will receive free training and licensure; license application assistance; uniform, transportation, and childcare assistance; immediate employment opportunities after successful course completion; and access to future training opportunities. The program has no cost for participants that meet all program requirements.
"EPG's CPFA program aims to break language and cultural barriers by bridging the gap and developing relationships within Prince George's County's immigrant and immigrant servicing communities," states Employ Prince George's Career Pathways for All Coordinator, Ariana Lindo. "After more than two years of economic hardship brought on by the pandemic, Prince Georgians need more access to training opportunities that lead to viable jobs. The demand for skilled nursing assistants will grow, even after the pandemic subsides. This innovative approach and partnership to develop health care workers benefit Prince George's immigrant population seeking high-quality new careers.”
"Heritage Care Inc. is grateful to work with Employ Prince George's and the Community Development Block Grant to provide this essential training to members of our English language learner community," states Aaron Sydor, Director of Education & Development. "Heritage Care Inc. has been providing specialized nursing assistant training for English language learners for almost ten years. Since the pandemic's start, the demand for nursing assistants has been unprecedented. This demand has also corresponded with an increased number of community members looking for work. Heritage Care Inc. and our partners have been working diligently to find English language learners interested in training to work in the field of nursing."
"All English language learning residents who are interested in the CNA/GNA program should contact us at the American Job Center," states Lindo. "We're proud to be able to provide one of the hardest working populations in the county with the opportunity to earn a living wage."
If you are interested in enrolling in the CNA/GNA training program for English Language Learners or learning more about Employ Prince George’s Career Pathway’s For All Program, please visit www.EmployPG.org/CPFA, call us at 301.618.8428, or email our staff at WSD@co.pg.md.us.
Media Contact:
Jamie Gunnell
Director, Community Development
& Press Information Officer
Employ Prince George's
301-339-4652
