Reporting from KCUR's Elana Gordon used in this report.
Missouri has received a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to train more than 4,000 underemployed adults in the health services sector. Governor Jay Nixon led the effort to bring the funds to the state’s 12 or so community colleges. Deborah Goodall is with Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City and said the grant will help equip adults with high demand health care skills.
“As health care records become digitalized, you need a different type of worker – someone who not only understands medical terminology the and health care side, you also need someone who understands IT systems,” Goodall said.
Goodall said that, among other things, the grant will help schools expand their curriculums, create training opportunities that better cater to working adults, and provide residents with academic scholarships.