Oakton, Va., June 23, 2005— Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) announced today it is transitioning one of its Training Futures sites to help address the increasing shortage of health care workers. Starting in August, the Springfield site will focus on preparing low-income adults for better-paying jobs within the health care industry.
“We are excited to be a part of the solution to help the health care industry find skilled employees, and we are equally thrilled to continue assisting Northern Virginia residents to start their way on new promising career paths,” said NVFS President and CEO Mary Agee.
Training Futures brings together low-income Northern Virginia adults who yearn for a better life for their families through better jobs, and area businesses that need technology-savvy administrative staff. For eight years, NVFS’ award-winning Training Futures program has successfully trained hundreds of entry-level administrative staff for professional services firms, law firms, governmental agencies, professional associations and small businesses.
Training Futures enrolls 140 trainees annually at its two sites. The program prepares graduates for a variety of entry-level office jobs, including administrative assistant, customer service, receptionist, accounting clerk and data entry. Training Futures’ 22-week program provides its graduates with a comprehensive skill set, including proficiencies in all Microsoft Office Suite software products, keyboarding, customer service, filing, bookkeeping and business communication. Trainees consistently achieve 90% graduation rates, 90% employment success and $5,000/year immediate wage gains—outcomes that place this program among the top-performing workforce development programs in the country.
Now, in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College’s (NVCC) Medical Education Campus and participating health care employers, Training Futures will retool its Springfield training site to help fill the gap of health care workers. For example, NVCC will provide medical terminology training, which is required for many entry-level administrative jobs in health care. The first class of 35 trainees will begin the program on Aug. 15. Training Futures will continue to operate its Tysons Corner program with its traditional focus on administrative careers in business.