Group gets $5M for health care job training, placement

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $5 million to a partnership of Hampton Roads education and health organizations to provide training and job placement assistance in the health care field.

The grant will help an estimated 330 unemployed and dislocated workers obtain training, according to a written statement from Virginia's U.S. senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner.

It is funded through fees paid by employers who have filled jobs by obtaining visas for foreign workers. The program is meant to help businesses reduce their need for foreign workers by bolstering the skills of the American workforce.

The Hampton Roads Healthcare Workforce Partnership includes Tidewater Community College, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Old Dominion University, the Hampton Roads Workforce Development Board, Bon Secours Health System, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center and Sentara Healthcare. Several organizations based on the Peninsula also are also members.