Intermountain Health is the recipient of a $1.9 million seed grant
from the Opportunity Now Colorado grant program, which
aims to transform Colorado's growing workforce with new job
opportunities.
The grant was one of 43
grants announced by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis that were
awarded in 17 industries and is provided through the Colorado
Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
The grants from Opportunity Now are designed to
spur innovation in education for employment and workforce
development through new partnerships and solutions.
Intermountain Health will use the grant to launch
Pathfinders: an AI-supported fully connected talent pipeline to
engage, hire and provide upfront tuition coverage for entry-level
frontline healthcare job seekers.
"It's no secret the nature of work is changing, and
employers around the world are needing to adapt in new innovative
ways. I'm proud to say at Intermountain, we aren't just adapting,
we're leading the way through programs like Pathfinders,” said
Heather Brace, chief people officer at Intermountain Health. “By
staying true to our values and embracing new ways to reach future
employees, we can build the kind of diverse talent pipeline that
ensures Intermountain Health will continue to innovate, adapt, and
succeed."
The Pathfinders program provides job matching based
on skills, on-the-job-training, portable credentials, mentoring,
and guided career steps toward higher-level healthcare jobs --
including upfront tuition funds to complete certifications or
pursue college degrees.
The grant benefits job seekers in the Denver and
Grand Junction areas, who currently work in jobs in any industry
that pays less than $15 per hour, do not have a four-year college
degree, or are unemployed.
Pathfinders also aims to reach nontraditional
students over 25 years of age, full-time workers, or parents of
small children. It provides full-time employment, fully funded
academic programs, and strategic skill-building for a lifetime of
growth. Additionally, learners receive career and financial
coaching and language skills support.
Job applicants who are hired and accepted into the
Pathfinders pilot project can start in roles as certified nursing
assistants, medical assistants, or sterile processing technicians
which lead to careers in nursing, imaging, and behavioral
health.
Through a series of specific career steps and
completion of a corresponding higher education degree, the employee
can become a nurse (RN and/or BSN) radiology tech, or licensed
clinical social worker. There are two career pathways for nursing
careers, one path for nurses who will work in hospital units or in
clinics, and another path for nurses who will work in surgical
operating rooms.
“The program is inspired by my own and others’
experience as an underestimated, non-traditional student with
minimal support. My experience taught me that multiple factors
contribute to a person’s ability to grow their career, none of
which can be taken for granted,” said Marguerite Samms, chief
learning officer at Intermountain Health, who is leading the
program.
The Pathfinders program offers career growth by
supporting life, work, and learning. Participants will have ready
access to financial coaching, transportation, nutrition support,
medical premium assistance, and education funding as an
employee.
Pathfinders participants will be hired as an
Intermountain caregiver and immediately begin on-the-job training
in departments led by managers who are specially trained to support
their success. Learning opportunities include healthcare
credentials, resume writing, interview skills, English language
learning, and post-secondary workforce readiness skills of
self-empowerment, communication, problem solving, and community
membership skills as outlined in the Colorado Career Cluster
Model.
Program participants will utilize
the FutureFit AI platform to start the job-matching
process. The platform uses proprietary algorithms to deduce job
seekers’ skills and guides discovery of in-demand careers pathways,
skills, gaps, relevant learning and resources, and quality job
opportunities.
Intermountain’s recruiting team will hire qualified
candidates from the FutureFit skills-based hiring platform which
recommends candidates based on skills and potential.
Program participants are then eligible to receive
live career coaching, including interview preparation, to help them
go through Intermountain’s regular hiring process and be matched
and hired into a critical entry-level job. Once matched, they can
begin their training to advance within the health career pathways
included in the program.
The program will provide on-ramps into healthcare
careers based on skills, not degrees, for 30 Coloradans each year
of the pilot project, for a total of 60 people.
Employees hired by Intermountain for Pathfinders
are eligible for no-cost education during the pilot project. After
the pilot, those working as little as 20 hours a week will have
access to the ongoing support of $5,250 in education and training
funding annually through Intermountain’s Path to Education,
Advancement, and Knowledge (PEAK) program which partners with
Colorado schools and online schools and is administered
through InStride.
Following successful implementation in two Colorado
counties, Intermountain aims to scale the Pathfinders talent
pipeline pilot project to other Colorado healthcare employers and
other locations where Intermountain has facilities.
Job seekers can find more information about jobs
available at Intermountain Health in the Denver and Grand Junction
areas by visiting the Intermountain Health careers
webpage or by sending an email
to recruitment@imail.org or by calling
1-800-843-7820.
- Intermountain Health employees
Sara Quale
Intermountain Health
385.275.8245
intermountainnews@imail.org