Avera and many Midwestern educational institutions know a highly skilled workforce is needed for future success. Students who aspire to achieve goals as health care professionals know this, too. Their parents likely understand the idea, but worry about the cost of education, which grows each year.
If you want a job in health care but aren’t sure where to go or even if you can afford it, you may have more options than you think.
To recruit great employees Avera partners with many educational institutions and offers career planning services. These partnerships can vary from investing in new education programs and buildings to scholarships, internships or sponsorship programs.
These programs help anyone interested in the field, whether they’re still in high school, in college or looking to make a career change later in life.
Examples of Avera’s programs and investments in workforce development include:
- Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), a high-school-based program that lets students learn more about health careers, from phlebotomy and lab work to nursing and medical assistantships.
- At Mount Marty University in Yankton, Avera contributed to the development of health care simulation labs on campus to help health majors apply what they learn.
- Via the Avera Academy, future health professionals at Sioux Falls Public Schools and Southeast Technical College are gaining real-time exposure to careers in health. Students explore careers with the program Avera funds, and it also helps provide tuition assistance to students who continue into college in these areas, such as nursing, surgery technician and others.
- In 2007, Avera pledged to support health sciences research and education at South Dakota State University, including the Avera Health & Science Center near the center of the campus where allied health professions students, pharmacy students and others develop their skills. Every student at SDSU who pursues a health or science education has classes in this building.
- In collaboration with Southeast Technical College, Avera helped launch a new program in Sioux Falls for students wanting to become behavioral and mental health technicians.
- Avera recently invested in the expansion of lab space and equipment for the radiology technology program at Mitchell Technical College.
- Avera recently helped create a state-of-the-art simulation laboratory at Southeast Technical College, thus allowing students access to enhanced educational offerings that could equip them for jobs such as respiratory therapy and medical laboratory technicians.
Career Planning Opportunities
Learn about opportunities for health care education and funding opportunities.
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“No two students are the same, and that’s why we offer so many paths toward successful jobs in health care,” said Pam Hilber, Director of Workforce Planning for Avera Health. “Avera is blessed to have so many partners in higher education helping both our system and these students.”
How Health Care Job Sponsorships Work
Sponsorships are similar to scholarships, yet they include a worthwhile work-at-Avera focus.
Scholarships help students with tuition, books and more to help pay for education. Avera sponsorship programs also help pay for schooling at colleges, technical schools and others, but with the guarantee that the student will work at Avera for a certain amount of time after graduation.
“Opportunities for student and employer successes are out there, and our sponsorship programs are a great example,” Hilber said. “We need well-educated employees, and for those who wish to join these programs, we can help with the costs that go with their training.”
Avera offers these sponsorships in critical areas of health care workforce through several educational facilities. Some examples include:
- Licensed practical nursing
- Medical laboratory technician
- Medical laboratory scientist
- Radiology technician
- Registered nursing
- Respiratory therapy
- Surgical technician
The largest sponsorship program Avera partners with is the South Dakota-focused Build Dakota program.
It’s not the only sponsorship opportunity. “Our regional leaders from Pierre, SD, in the west to sites in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota look to match needed jobs with students who need help with costs and who are willing to fill them,” Hilber said.
How Building Investments Foster Workforce Development
Brick-and-mortar investments on many campuses, along with ongoing communication with communities, tech schools and universities let Avera remain nimble in its offerings. The process can lead to win-win situations.
“With our high schools, colleges, technical schools and others, Avera can help foster workforce development,” said Micki Lundin, Director of Community Partnerships with Avera. “This helps our work, all across our footprint and it helps young people, or individuals who seek a career change, achieve what they set out to do.”
Lundin said the health system’s strong relationships continue to help students learn in collaborative environments.
“We value the continuing relationships we have, and we seek more allies in this effort,” she added. “We’ll keep finding the opportunities that help our communities thrive.”
Making Career Plans Easier for Students and Families
Avera Career Planning Service serves as the central hub for these programs. All applicants, from high-school students considering the future to adults considering a career change, can use this one-stop, online site for convenient answers to questions.
Students can experience health care careers with seminars, job-shadow programs and other opportunities.
“Students may not know all the levels of care in our industry,” Hilber said. “When they learn about chances they might have, be it in a laboratory or as part of an imaging team, they can make better decisions.”
