On September 18th, Christine Davies, Managing Director of Casa Companion Homecare Solutions, attended the monthly meeting of the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) of the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP), hosted by Qualcomm’s Thinkabit Lab. Christine was invited to speak about Casa Companion Homecare Solutions’ involvement with the SDWP’s Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry Program, a Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program funded by the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance. An employer like Casa Companion is the final element of a workforce training program that focuses on healthcare, which is a fast-growing field with great demand for workers of all kinds. Employment in the healthcare and social assistance industry is projected to increase 29 percent through 2022, compared to an average of 11 percent for all industries, making it the fastest growing industry overall.
Christine spoke to the assembled group of board members, corporate partners, organized labor, leaders in education, community organizations, and leaders/advocates for workforce development about the impact that HPOG has had on her business. In a few short months, Casa Companion Homecare Solutions has hired five graduates of the HPOG program in San Diego, and expects to hire many more though this program.
HPOG participants enroll in a variety of training and education programs that result in an employer- or industry-recognized certificate or degree. The most common training programs include those for nurse aides, home health aides, licensed and vocational nurses, registered nurses, medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, and phlebotomists.
Because of this training and education received through HPOG, Christine finds that the participants she has hired through the Bridge to Employment Program are of a higher caliber. According to Christine, ‘This is especially important in the homecare industry because clients served by Casa Companion Homecare Solutions are typically seniors. When serving this demographic, it is paramount that employees are high quality, well trained, motivated, and passionate about their work. These are exactly the type of employees we have obtained through San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Bridge to Employment Program. This has a huge impact on our business through the high quality of service provided to clients by our employees.’
Casa Companion Homecare Solutions is proud of its partnership with SDWP that serves the needs of the San Diego community. According to Dan Cabrera, Business Services Representative at the San Diego Workforce Partnership, “I can’t speak highly enough of my partnership with Casa Companion. As the Business Services Representative for the Bridge to Employment program, I am tasked with developing employment opportunities for our clientele. Working with Christine Davies and her staff has made the hiring process flawless. Christine’s commitment to the program, tireless efforts, professionalism, and excellent attitude have given our clients the opportunity to work with an outstanding organization that provides quality care to those in our community. Without Christine and the wonderful staff at Casa Companion, we would not have been able to achieve the level of success that we have.”
The San Diego Workforce Partnership is a tax-exempt organization chartered by the County and the City of San Diego to fund job training programs in the San Diego region. Led by CEO Peter Callstrom since 2012, SDWP has been funding job training programs in San Diego County since 1974, and will celebrate 40 years of leadership in workforce development this month. September has been named Workforce Development Month in the County and City of San Diego, and the organization will receive proclamations from the City Council and County Board of Supervisors celebrating its work on behalf of San Diego County.
