CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Goodwill of the Heartland and MedCerts are working together to help 45 people get certified online for in-demand careers during the pandemic.
Amy Rohrbough of Cedar Rapids is one of the students going through the program.
“I currently work at Jimmy Johns in Iowa City, I have a great wonderful group of people there,” Rohrbough said.
Looking toward the long-term, Rohrbough is interested in a career in healthcare. She hasn’t gone to school in 20 years, but the pandemic prompted her to take this step.
“You are not too old to go back to school,” Rohrbough said.
Rohrbough has been putting in at least 20 hours a week to complete a five-month-long medical administrative assistance program through MedCerts, an online school for healthcare and IT.
“I would like to maybe get into the medical billing part of it but you know front office, you know administrative assistant would be great,” Rohrbough said.
“With COVID and the let go’s of all the hospitalities and the customer service jobs out there, a lot of people were looking what do I do? How do I make sure this doesn’t happen to me again,” Sandy Mead, national director of workforce development at MedCerts, said.
People in the program had to have endured a job hardship because of the pandemic and need to be working at least part-time. In addition, their tuition is free-of-charge, thanks to a grant from Gov. Kim Reynolds through money from the stimulus that the U.S. Congress passed almost one year ago.
“It’s really helping people move out of poverty. People who were laid off because of COVID or their hours were reduced to part-time,” Amy Winslow, career services & development manager at Goodwill of the Heartland, said.
MedCerts provides the curriculum and Goodwill of the Heartland offers support and helps connect students to jobs, which they’re already starting to land.
“United Healthcare hired somebody and Alliant Energy hired a participant and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics just hired someone,” Winslow said.
It’s a new beginning and for Rohrbough it’s something she’s looking forward to, not letting the pandemic hold her back from her career goals.
“The doors are open, so it’s just a matter of finding that right job,” Rohrbough.
The current program is full with the current grant but Goodwill of the Heartland is continuing to look for additional grants to run programs like this.
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March 09, 2021 at 06:37AM
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Goodwill of the Heartland teams with MedCerts to help 45 people work towards new careers during pandemic - KCRG
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