Bellingham Technical College was awarded $573, 767 for the Hospital Employee Education and Training (HEET) Program Grant for the Moving Forward project allocated by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. This is the third consecutive year BTC and its partners have received this grant.

Specifically, this new grant promotes the combination of education, job retraining, intensive academic and career advising, as well as provides funding for necessary services, such as childcare and transportation, that existing healthcare workers need in order to meet their full potential.

The goal of this new project is moving pre-college and college-level workers through all necessary coursework needed to apply or enroll in health degree and certificate programs.

“This project addresses one of the most intractable issues in education – increasing the success rate of academically under-prepared, working adults seeking career advancement through education,” project director Gabriel Mast said in a press release. “All three community and technical colleges in our region, along with hospital employers and labor partners, are working together to pilot a single education pathway leading to the completion of college-level requirements for admission to nursing and other allied health programs. This pathway includes innovations such as common courses and pre-requisites, shared admissions requirements, as well as a variety of practical accommodations for working students.”