Hebrew SeniorLife Awarded Nearly $500,000 for Workforce Training

Hebrew SeniorLife has received nearly $500,000 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s awarding of $7.4 million in workforce development grant funding for 16 initiatives across Massachusetts.  

At Hebrew SeniorLife, the $499,890 award will support nurse aide training and job placement for 120 unemployed and underemployed adults located in the Greater Boston area.

Statewide, the grants represent partnerships with employers, training providers, and regional collaborators to train, upskill, and provide job placement to 1,161 workers for in-demand occupations in health care, education, information technology, and more.

“This generous grant will help Hebrew SeniorLife create career paths that provide personal and professional growth while ensuring older adults have access to skilled, compassionate caregivers,” said Hebrew SeniorLife President and CEO Adam Scott.

Through Hebrew SeniorLife’s Lunder CareForce Institute, participants will receive hands-on training, job placement support, and English language instruction as needed.

The program specifically targets those unemployed looking to develop training skills, as well as underemployed and incumbent workers. 

The first training sessions are located at Hebrew SeniorLife’s Roslindale campus, with plans to expand to additional sites and employer partners in the coming year as the initiative grows.

The initiative is designed to strengthen the region’s health care workforce, address elder and long-term care staffing shortages, and create equitable career pathways.

A career coach will support each participant, who will receive stipends, uniforms, textbooks, and certification exam fees.

Graduates will earn CNA certification, CPR/BLS, and Alzheimer’s Association Habilitation Therapy credentials, positioning them for immediate employment and long-term advancement.

This grant builds on the success of Hebrew SeniorLife’s prior program, which trained more than 110 individuals with an 86 percent completion rate and a 70 percent placement rate. The program was supported through the Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grants, administered by Commonwealth Corporation and funded by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development through the state’s Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund. Each awarded grant aims to close the skills gap, increase access to well-paying jobs for unemployed and underemployed residents, and strengthen productivity and workforce needs among employers throughout Massachusetts. Workforce Success Grants fund job training and job placement for untapped talent and upskilling programs for incumbent workers. 

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 seniors a day across seven campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; Jack Satter House, Revere; and Leyland Community, Dorchester. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 500 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.