Quincy College has received a $145,551 grant to upgrade equipment and technology in its Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Home Health Aide (HHA) education and training programs, marking the second consecutive year that the College has been awarded skills training funding to expand key offerings in its healthcare curriculum.

The grant is part of more than $32 million in funding provided to schools, colleges and other organizations through this year’s Mass. Skills Capital and Career Technical Initiative, a multi-year effort to address gaps in workforce skills by enabling residents of all ages to pursue careers in growing industries where employers will then have access to greater numbers of qualified workers.

The College will use its latest grant to build out and equip a Flexible Acute Care Laboratory to significantly upskill the capabilities of students pursuing CNA and HHA certificates through more specific hands-on training on equipment used in acute, sub-acute, and post­ acute-care settings. A portion of the grant will also be used to create a new Flexible Consultation Lab for students enrolled in the College’s Substance Abuse Assistant certificate program, providing them with space specially designed to support that program’s unique needs.

“We’re grateful for the continued support of the state’s Skills Grant Capital Program in helping us respond to the increasing demand for well-educated workers,” said Quincy College President Dr. Richard Decristofaro. “Our CNA, HHA and Substance Abuse Assistant programs are important feeders for our regional healthcare providers seeking employees in a challenging labor market.”

Also included in the latest round of grant funding is a $1.2 million award to Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), a Boston-based provider of adult education and workforce development services with whom Quincy College is partnering to launch a healthcare and life sciences career-training institute in downtown Boston. Funding will be used by JVS to convert the former Boston Center for Adult Education into educational training space for JVS clients
seeking careers in biotechnology, phlebotomy, central sterile processing, substance abuse addiction counseling, medical billing and coding, and as medical assistants.