On October 25, 2023, the SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training & Education Fund (Training Fund) marks its 15-year anniversary. This milestone event celebrates innovative labor/management partnerships that drive workforce solutions, and will bring together union members, healthcare employers, education partners, community-based organizations, and staff. Attendees will include member speakers, representatives from major healthcare employers across Washington, and local dignitaries such as SEIU Healthcare 1199NW President Jane Hopkins, and King County Executive Dow Constantine
The Training Fund is a labor/management partnership that brings together Washington’s biggest healthcare union and its largest healthcare employers to align on investing in workforce development and community representation. Established in 2008, the Training Fund has expanded beyond programs and services that promote career advancement for healthcare workers, to also implement several healthcare apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and certified nursing assistant programs. This ground-breaking enterprise leverages the healthcare industry’s greatest strengths – its people and institutions – to collectively keep pace with this rapidly changing, ever expanding and highly complex sector.
The Training Fund’s accomplishments include:
- Supporting more than 1,500 healthcare workers annually with Career Counseling services since 2018
- More than $23.8 million awarded in federal, state, and private grants
- Six Washington State-registered Healthcare Apprenticeships (spanning medical/pharmacy & behavioral health pathways)
- 106 pre-apprenticeship program participants since 2021
- Career Connect Washington‘s Healthcare Sector Leader
- 167 certified Nursing Assistants have completed our NA-C training program since 2021
- 408 members have used Tuition Assistance to advance their careers and education in 2023 alone — 63% of them identify as BIPOC
Learn more about our work and accomplishments over the last 15 years in our press release 15 Years of Advancing Healthcare Careers, Creating Career Pathways and Improving Patient Care across Washington.
Our 15-year anniversary event celebrates our accomplishments, partnerships, and members. Together, we are creating opportunity and equity for our healthcare workforce community.
Program participants and members will share their victories and stories. Labor and mangement partners will speak about the successes that have come from partnership with the Training Fund.
The event will conclude with the presentation of the inaugural Diane Sosne Award.
The SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training Fund proudly recognizes Dow Constantine, King County Executive, as an exemplary partner for his significant contribution to the healthcare workforce and community; his passion and dedication to equity, access, and workers’ advocacy; and for being a champion of Labor-Management collaboration.
“Behavioral health care requires a skilled and experienced workforce, and King County is committed to investing in a system that puts workers at the center to best meet the needs of providers, patients, and the region as a whole. The Training Fund’s Behavioral Health apprenticeship program is so important, and King County is pleased to fund this collaborative approach that is advancing healthcare careers and building a workforce that will strengthen and enhance the behavioral health system overall. It is amazing to see the impacts of the last 15 years and to hear inspiring stories of these apprentices and their mentors.”
Dow Constantine, King County Executive
I want other people like me who are interested in health care to not give up on their dreams and make the most out of learning! I am so grateful for the help I got from the [Health Care Apprenticeship Consortium] which helped set a pathway for me to become an Orthopedic Surgeon…The teachers, nurses, and the people leading the program were all so friendly and engaging–they welcomed my curiosity and made me excited about a career in healthcare!
“As we celebrate 15 years, the Training Fund is increasingly a go-to partner for healthcare workforce development and solutions across Washington and the region. We are proud of our accomplishments and of the many productive cross-sector partnerships that have brought them to fruition.”
Laura Hopkins, Executive Director, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training & Education Fund
There are lots of people who are looking for advancement and who want to climb the ladder. But it’s so difficult working our job and it’s hard to be connected to the resources. It’s so helpful that there’s really one place that you can go to, like the Training Fund, for your continuing education and career needs.
“It’s really important for everyone who works in healthcare to be able to have a career pathway. That’s what the Training Fund does for people. The Training Fund can change people’s lives. The Training Fund meets the needs of all of our communities—including low-income and communities of color. We are proud of the Training Fund’s 15 years of creating career pathways that enable caregivers to reflect the populations they serve and provide equitable access to meaningful work.”
Jane Hopkins, President, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and Board of Trustees Co-Chair for the Training Fund
I didn’t think that I would be the first from my cohort to graduate and get my MA-C, but I did. My instructor was amazing – he made learning fun, and helped me believe in even furthering my education beyond a CMA for the future. I was able to pass the exam because I attended the study sessions.
And while waiting to get my license, I was offered a position to be an apprentice at UW Primary Care! It’s funny to think how things come full circle and you end up where you are supposed to be.
“We need healthcare workers desperately. The Training Fund not only helps with recruitment, but also with retention of workers. As we mark 15 years, the breadth of programs and services available to Training Fund members and participants continues to impact the lives of thousands of healthcare workers and, by extension, the care that their patients receive. At Providence-Swedish, we’re proud to have worked with the Training Fund on several innovative programs, including the Advanced Certification for EVS Technicians and the Culinary Pathway Program.”
Renee Rasilyer-Bomers, Chief Nursing Officer for Providence-Swedish and Board of Trustees Chair for the Training Fund
The multi-employer, labor-management partnership model allows the Training Fund to attract significant grant dollars to expand services for its members and the broader community. The Training Fund has received funding through multiple federal, state, and private grants, including more than $23.8 million in grant funding. We truly appreciate this important support from our funding partners. Special thanks to the following funders:
- State of Washington Department of Labor & Industries
- U.S. Department of Labor’s Healthcare Career Advancement Program Closing the Skills Gap Grant
- King County American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Grant
- Seattle Office of Economic Development
- Ballmer Group
Learn more about our work and accomplishments. Read our press release 15 Years of Advancing Healthcare Careers, Creating Career Pathways and Improving Patient Care across Washington