In the News
Visit the links below to read media coverage on Professional & Workforce Training programs and activities.
First Class of All Women to Graduate from EMS Academy in St. Paul
On June 12, at the Conway Recreation Center in St. Paul, Minn., six future Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) graduated from the Saint Paul Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Academy in a heartfelt ceremony put on in partnership with the EMS Department at Anoka Technical College, Ramsey County, Highway Federal Credit Union, and St. Paul Fire Department.
This class is unique in that it is all-female and all underrepresented populations, which aligns with the communities they will be serving. At the start of the academy 18 students began training and up until the last day there were six remaining. All seven graduates are also mothers and juggled motherhood and school simultaneously during their time in the program.
The Saint Paul Fire Department’s EMS Academy is run in partnership with the city’s Right Track program through Saint Paul Parks and Recreation; modeled after Station 51 in Pittsburgh, which is a program aimed at providing opportunities for those of diverse communities to train with doctors and other medical professionals. In 2009 the first EMS Academy in Minnesota opened in hopes of providing opportunities for low-income adults, particularly people of color, with the goal of working to break generational poverty.
Anoka Tech’s involvement in the EMS Academy is the academic side of the program. Anoka Tech provides oversight of the curriculum to make sure that the standards are met to be successful. Similarly to the credit courses offered at the college, academic rigor is ensured so future graduates meet the academic standards needed to move forward in the profession.
The EMS Academy has been become a great partnership and has created an open dialogue to have autonomy within the program. This summer will be the second Academy with this partnership and another program starting with a local high school. The partnership between Anoka Tech and the EMS Academy has been so successful that the goal is to have a recurring program for future students.
An Emergency Medical faculty at Anoka Technical College, Jeff Morgan, says “In addition to the EMT Academies, we have also strengthened the partnership where we are sending internal employees to our paramedic program to get paramedic certification. We’ve developed a very strong partnership with St. Paul Fire and that is a direct result of the work with the EMS Academy.”
Learn more about the EMS Program at Anoka Tech.
Read more about the graduates in the press:
Next Generation Nursing Assistant Initiative
An innovative state program offers free nursing assistant training to grapple with a labor shortage that has left care providers scrambling.
Answering the Call
Due to workforce shortages, the National Guard were called up to help care for residents in long-term care facilities across Minnesota. Before being deployed, service members attended nursing assistant training through Professional & Workforce Training to acquire the knowledge and skills to provide excellent care.
- Minnesota National Guard prepares for nursing home deployment – Fox9
- MN Guard Members Learn Nursing Skills at Local Colleges – CTN Coon Rapids
- Minnesota National Guard prepares for long-term care mission – KSTP
- Local colleges provide Certified Nursing Assistant training to National Guard – ABC Newspapers
Next Generation Nursing Assistant Training
We are part of the Next Generation Nursing Assistant by the Governor to train 1000 new CNAs in January by providing free tuition.
- Hundreds of Minnesotans take advantage of state’s tuition-free nursing assistant training – Star Tribune
- Millions Have Quit Their Jobs During The ‘Great Resignation’; But Where Are The Workers Going? – WCCO
Looking to learn more about this new program?
Orientation to the Operating Room
Anoka Technical College’s Professional & Workforce training partnered with Allina Health to create a customized orientation for new operating room registered nurses utilizing AORN’s Periop101 program and our simulated operating room. The model has resulted in better nurse retention to this specialized position and less reliance on temporary nursing staff.