This month, Futuro Health launched its latest new program, the Health IT Specialist Certificate program, which is offered on Coursera with content created by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

“Our new Health IT Specialist program is a strong example of how workers can recover from their job losses and emerge from the pandemic with different opportunities – ones that makes social mobility possible,” said Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan. “Coursera’s relationship with Johns Hopkins has made it possible to create a single certificate program that blends the worlds of healthcare and IT to produce workers who are day-one ready.”

The course will prepare students for entry-level jobs as healthcare help desk analysts or end-user computer support specialists – “gateway” jobs that lead to higher-wage work, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

According to the Institute’s pre-pandemic analysis of job profiles and histories for people without bachelor’s degrees, 47% of computer-user support specialists transition from a gateway job into a job paying a middle wage of $42,000 or above. These jobs are also considered “destination” jobs, or jobs that are likely to continue growing in the future.

“Addressing the healthcare IT skills gap through accessible training programs helps individuals, employers, and communities thrive,” said Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. “We are proud to team up with leaders like Futuro Health and Johns Hopkins University to bring critical, job-relevant content to learners, especially those impacted by the current economic crisis.”

Voting is under way for #SXSWEDU panels via the #PanelPicker! That’s where we need your help. Give our panel a Vote Up on our designated page. It’s free and, if our panel is selected, you’ll give us the chance to share about how higher education can actually grow its market and seize the biggest opportunity out there: working learners – at a time when enrollment has fallen across the country and institutions are under financial strain in the wake of COVID-19.

Panel participants include:

You don’t have to attend SXSW to vote. Creating an account takes just a minute. Voting ends this Friday!

Listen in to the latest episode of Workforce Rx with Futuro Health, titled “Are You Ready for the Impact of Automation?”, for insights from Bryan Hancock, Global Leader of Talent Management at McKinsey & Company.

McKinsey estimates 30 to 40 percent of all workers in developed countries may need to move into new occupations, or at least upgrade their skill sets significantly, in the next decade. Despite that daunting challenge, Hancock is not discouraged because many large employers are making big investments in employee learning opportunities, and technologies like virtual reality are creating fun and effective training options.

Hancock is also encouraged by growth in the “workforce ecosystem” – independent foundations, companies, and other organizations that are innovating to close gaps in skills and opportunity.

In this episode, Hancock and Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan explore those issues, plus the growing importance of soft skills, the impact of the gig economy, and how employers can take a “talent-first” approach.

Listen to our other featured guests:

Walter Greenleaf, PhD, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University: Improving Care with Virtual Environments

Dr. Rishi Manchanda, CEO of HealthBegins: Adding Trusted Community Voices to Healthcare

Jaime Fall, Director of UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute – Invest in a Culture of Learning

Join Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan at the California Forward Economic Summit next month as she moderates a special session titled "The Reinvention of Higher Education – Rebuilding Our Workforce Amid COVID-19" with co-moderator Victor T. Hu, co-founder and managing partner of Lumos Capital Group.

The session will take place Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. To attend, register for the 2020 California Economic Summit, and you’ll be able to sign up for this special session. Among the national panelists is former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education Jim Shelton, along with national and state education and workforce thought leaders.

Even before the global pandemic, much of higher education was facing a crisis, with some 30% of our institutions facing serious financial difficulties. And now, the pandemic seems to have upended the traditional countercyclicality of higher education during economic downturns. How should our higher education system respond and adapt to new realities brought on by the pandemic? How can it ensure a more robust bridge between higher education and the workforce?

Come hear what our panelists have to say:

National Panelists:

California Response:

Sarah O. chose a stable career path in the public sector, working her way to a good civil-service job at the California Secretary of State. But the field of health always called to her.

“I’ve always been interested in going into healthcare,” Sarah, 30, said. “It’s always been a desire of mine since I was young to work in a field that I felt was meaningful – one where I could help other people. It’s just taking me a little longer to get to that point.”

The opportunity to pursue her dream came when she heard about Futuro Health’s Medical Assistant Program through a friend who works for Kaiser Permanente. Sarah applied and started the program in October, at MTI College, after completing the prerequisite Jump Start Courses.

Her long-term goal is to become a registered nurse (RN) specializing in pediatrics. For now, she is working full time as she pursues the medical assistant certification, which will give her a start in the healthcare field as she works toward her goal. She studies before school and at night, as well as on work breaks. She was worried she would struggle because she’s older and has more life responsibilities now than she did when she was fresh out of high school.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to find the time or that I was going to be able to keep up in the classes,” Sarah said. “Everyone has been so supportive and so encouraging. My Futuro Health Navigators, the people that I’ve spoken with – they’ve all been very helpful, very encouraging and kind. They provide so much insight and so much support that it helps you to stay motivated.”

Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan recently joined Barbara Shannon on The Good Company Podcast to discuss new strategies for finding talent.

“There’s a movement now to hire – less based on degrees but more based on demonstrated competencies and portfolios,” Ton-Quinlivan shares during the session.

Shannon interviews the most inspirational and successful, purpose-driven CEO leaders in her podcast series about why and how they do what they do.