State creates apprentice program to address healthcare worker shortage
By KMBC News Staff
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JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — Missouri’s Department of Mental Health and Division of Developmental Disabilities announced the Missouri Talent Pathways program on Monday.
The apprentice program is an initiative to recruit and retain a highly skilled and dedicated workforce.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson calls the program the first of its kind in the nation. The Missouri Talent Pathways was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship, making it an officially registered program.
The program will provide on-the-job mentoring with technical instruction and culminates in participants receiving a certificate as a Certified Direct Support Professional.
“This registered apprenticeship will increase career opportunities to more Missourians and is a great example of the kind of innovation that occurs in state government,” Governor Parson said in a press release Monday. “It’s programs like this one that allow Missouri to consistently rank among the top states for apprenticeship opportunities. We look forward to this program helping expand health care workforce solutions while improving our ability to care for some of Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens.”
The program’s stated goals are to increase the competency of national best practices, statewide applicability, improve healthcare costs and time efficiencies, and expand Missouri’s talent pipelines.
People interested in applying for the apprenticeship can be found here: dmh.mo.gov/dev-disabilities/service-providers/talent-pathways
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