Percentage of
U.S. health care
professionals educated
at community colleges
Source: National Center for
Education Statistics
from identifying a potential vocation
and completing the necessary educational requirements to, ultimately,
landing a job in their desired field.
“The Virtual Career Network will
have the capacity to innovate and
connect a wealth of health care and
career exploration tools and resources,”
says U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor,
Employment and Training Administra-
tion Jane Oates. “We anticipate this will
create a promising model for virtual
career exploration that could be repli-
cated for other fields and provide value
for years to come.”
The joint effort, which includes
AACC, Labor, and nine other strategic
partner organizations (for a full list of
partners and their roles, see sidebar,
p. 24), would feature free job informa-
tion, education, skills assessment, and
placement resources designed to help
students pursue any one of nearly
79 health-related careers.
Medical Career
Matchmaker
The American Association of
Community Colleges will build and
operate an “open source, open
content” workforce services delivery
platform that allows individuals to:
• Explore health care careers;
• Select one or more such careers
as potential targets;
• Assess interest, aptitude, and
readiness to pursue that career
and engage in the education and
training needed to obtain a job in
that career;
• Determine whether any gaps
exist in academic preparation or
prior work experience that would
disqualify them from participating
in such education or training;
• Take remedial education and
training online through the
platform as needed to prepare
them to enroll in an appropriate
instructional program;
• Locate and enroll in training or
instructional programs convenient
to them that lead to a credential
that will qualify them for a job in
their chosen occupation; and
• Access tools that assist them in
using that credential to locate and
apply for relevant job openings.
