On Tuesday, November 16 at 1:00 PM, District 1199 New England celebrated National Apprenticeship Week at St. Joseph’s Center nursing home in Trumbull with the State of Connecticut Department of Labor Interim Commissioner and Chair of the State of Connecticut Apprenticeship Council Danté Bartolomeo, Genesis HealthCare administrators, and the state’s first cohort of CNA apprentices.

Participants in this nursing aide pilot program, established in partnership between the Union’s 1199NE Training Fund and Genesis HealthCare, will be able to continue working at St. Joseph’s Center under the mentorship of an experienced Certified Nursing Assistant.  

Participants completing the required 147 hours of classwork will also receive registered apprenticeship identification cards issued by the State of Connecticut Department of Labor, and the opportunity to take Connecticut’s CNA licensure exam. 

According to projections provided by CT’s Department of Labor, nursing aide jobs will be opening at a rate of more than 2,000 per year during the next ten years, 1,000 per year for home health aides, and 5,500 per year for personal care attendants to care for our aging population.

This is the first program of this kind in Connecticut and similar to programs built by Genesis and SEIU in other areas of the country. The program is open to apprentices at no cost, including paid time to attend classes. More apprenticeship programs are developing in Windsor and Vernon.

What:             Pilot Program Graduation in Nursing Aide Apprentice Partnership
                       with Genesis HealthCare during National Apprenticeship Week

When:             Tuesday, November 16, at 1:00 PM 

Where:           St. Joseph’s Center, affiliated with Genesis HealthCare
                       6448 Main Street in Trumbull       

Who:              SEIU District 1199 New England union leaders and members,
                       CT Department of Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo,
                       Genesis HealthCare