Jobs Waiting Program Announces Commitment From Major Healthcare Employers

CEOs from major healthcare employers in Westchester and the region met at County Executive Rob Astorino’s office today, and pledged to collaborate on ‘Jobs Waiting,’ a regional program to retrain long-term unemployed individuals for jobs in the healthcare sector, a $15 billion industry with thousands of available positions throughout the Hudson Valley.

For employers, the Jobs Waiting program provides a pipeline of vetted, prospective employees, who can quickly fill the region’s 3,000 available healthcare positions.

“The Jobs Waiting program fills an employment need for an industry desperate for talent,” said Amy Allen, Vice President, Westchester County Association, which serves as project manager of the federally funded Ready to Work grant. “For those out of work for more than six months, this program is a life saver, and an entry into the region’s hottest growth industry, healthcare.”

The meeting, hosted by the County Executive, the Westchester County Association, and Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board, gave employers a chance to meet together to come up with a plan to work closely to identify in-demand skills for hard-to-fill jobs. They agreed to collaborate on the development of specialized training programs to meet workforce needs across the industry, and to support individual job seekers who participate in the job training ‘boot camps,’ with job interviews, networking, and career advice.

“Employer support to date has been terrific, and we hope to see even more,” added Allen. “Many of the program participants are highly educated and have enjoyed long careers, but because they have been out of work for over six months, they need retraining and a confidence boost. This program accomplishes that and more. It’s also a great resource for employers.”

Employers from Montefiore Health System, New York Presbyterian Hospital’s regional system (Hudson Valley and Lawrence Hospital), Phelps Hospital Northwell Health, ENT and Allergy Associates, White Plains Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United Hebrew of New Rochelle, WMC Health, Cabrini Eldercare, and Domincan Sisters Family Health Services were in attendance.

Eric Saidel, director of human resources at ENT and Allergy Associates, said his company had hired eight Jobs Waiting graduates for an array of positions in departments including their busy call center, nursing, IT, and compliance. “We’ve been thrilled with our new hires because they are motivated, committed, and prepared. We want to hire more.”

Jobs Waiting is a $9.8 million federally funded Ready to Work grant program led by Westchester County and managed by the Westchester County Association, in partnership with the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development board and the employment centers throughout seven Hudson Valley counties. To date, 86 individuals have participated in boot camps, 29 are enrolled in specialized training opportunities and 22 participants are now employed.

William Mooney, president and CEO of the WCA said, “We are going to exceed the expectations for this program, which has the potential to become a model of collaboration for other communities throughout the entire nation.”

Photo: Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino meets with regional healthcare executives and a team from the Westchester County Association.

Photo: Deputy Westchester County Executive Kevin Plunkett, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, and Bill Mooney, President & CEO, Westchester County Association discuss the Jobs Waiting Program with regional healthcare leaders.

Photo: Executives from NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center meet with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and the Westchester County Association regarding the Jobs Waiting Program. The employers in attendance have committed to hiring 500 of the region’s long-term unemployed through 2018.

Photo Credit: Harrison Edwards