Job training program prepares Baltimore residents for work at local medical institutions, colleges

One of the first cohorts to receive job training under a new local, city-supported hiring effort graduated Friday in a ceremony in downtown Baltimore.

Humanim, a workforce development nonprofit, is providing the job training for individuals from the city's most distressed neighborhoods, and Johns Hopkins is part of a group of local medical institutions and colleges that are employing the trainees upon completion.

Image caption: Graduates received Certified Medical Administrative Assistant training

Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University

The partnership is one approach to streamline recruitment of new hires for the university and health system's HopkinsLocal Initiative, a commitment to promoting economic growth and employment opportunities in Baltimore through purchasing, building, and hiring efforts.

The 15 job-seekers graduated Friday as certified medical administrative assistants after completing a 13-week program—two weeks of advanced soft skills training, two weeks of Microsoft Office training, seven weeks of CMAA training at the Community College of Baltimore County, and a two-week internship at Humanim.

The other 15-person cohort to have graduated was trained in administrative assistant skills, earning Microsoft Office Specialist certification and receiving a Professional Certificate of Excellence.

The guarantee of job placement following completion of the program is key to the HireLocal effort, organizers say. Of the 30 current graduates, nine have already secured employment. Johns Hopkins is reviewing an additional seven of the CMAA graduates for positions in the health system. Other major employers—including the University of Maryland Medical System, Mercy Medical Center, LifeBridge Health, and area universities such as Towson; Morgan State; Notre Dame; Loyola; University of Baltimore; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore—have also expressed interest in hiring the graduates.

Funding for the job training program came from a grant from the Mayor's Office of Employment Development. The One Baltimore for Jobs grant funds training for individuals who live in distressed neighborhoods, are under-employed or unemployed, and are between the ages of 18-29. The training must provide a nationally recognized certification, and must lead to placement in a position earning at least $11 per hour.