Community College Journal - June/July 2011

; 2.8M

Number of health care-related job openings in the U.S. labor market over the next eight years.

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

careers online through the Career Management Account.

The program will also allow potential job seekers to identify experiential credits that they might apply toward future health care certifications or career qualifications.

“As part of the VCN initiative, the American Council on Education (ACE) will create easy-to-use tools to help adults identify prior learning experiences that they might apply to a degree program, and identify college programs that recognize those learning experiences,” explains Mary Beth Lakin, associate director of ACE’s Center for Lifelong Learning and VCN partner organization. Lakin says the platform will allow “countless individuals seeking new paths to realize their education and career goals—from entering or advancing in the workforce to returning to the workplace or transitioning from another career field.”

Open Source, Open Access

Built on an open-source architecture, the VCN is accessible to students, colleges, employers, and other stakeholders interested in expanding access to health care careers.

All of the tools, assessments, user
interfaces, job information, remedial
coursework, and other resources are
available for use on other systems and
platforms.

COREY MURRAY is managing editor of Community College Journal.

Partners in Health Care In addition to the American Association of Community Colleges, the primary grant holder, the project has nine partners. Their roles are as follows:

National Association of State Workforce Agencies and DEA will serve as the job source for the platform and its connection to large employers in the health care industry.

National Association of Workforce Boards is conducting the asset mapping, managing the Advisory Committee, and reviewing identified resources to identify any significant gaps; it also has the lead on marketing the platform and training organizations to use the platform.

American Council on Education is assisting in the design of the overall assessment process, while particularly focusing on that portion related to evaluating prior learning for college credit.

XPAND is the project’s partner responsible for the technology— designing, developing, building, and operating the platform.

Ed2Go is an online learning developer that will provide some of the remedial education courses that will be offered through the platform’s learning exchange.

iSEEK is assisting in the asset mapping process, particularly in regard to use of assessment tools; is participating in the design of the user interface; and will also conduct the usability studies of the final prototype.

Jobs for the Future will develop and provide user training and offer train-the-trainer webinars.

American Dental Education Association operates the Explore Healthcare Careers website, which provides content to the Interim Platform for use by Category II grantees until the VCN is completed.