North Carolina launches apprenticeship program for state health care workforce
The STEP-NC program begins at two state-operated facilities and is intended to create pathways into behavioral health, nursing, maintenance and other health care positions.
RALEIGH — North Carolina has launched a health care apprenticeship initiative aimed at recruiting workers for state-operated health facilities and creating career pathways for high school students, adult learners and new employees.
The STEP-NC: Health Care Program begins with pilot programs at Broughton Hospital and the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center in Morganton.
State officials described STEP-NC as the first health care apprenticeship program established within North Carolina state government. The program is being developed through a partnership involving the Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Business Committee for Education.
Six recent Burke County high school graduates participated in the first pre-apprenticeship cohort this summer. The students worked in behavioral-health and maintenance-technician pathways at the two state-operated facilities.
After completing the pre-apprenticeship, participants may apply for registered apprenticeship positions aligned with their career interests.
The initiative is intended to prepare workers for both clinical and nonclinical positions, including nursing, behavioral health, administrative support, electrical work and facilities maintenance.
NCDHHS said it hopes to expand the apprenticeship model to additional state-operated health care facilities. The department operates facilities that provide psychiatric, developmental-disability, substance-use and other health services.
The current participants were referred through Opt-In, a Burke County program open to graduating seniors and supported by Industrial Commons. The program is intended to help students obtain postsecondary credentials and enter local career fields.
The apprenticeship initiative also supports the Governor’s Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, which has set goals of reducing vacancies in state government and doubling the number of apprentices statewide.
State-operated facilities have faced staffing and retention challenges, particularly in behavioral health and direct-care positions. NCDHHS has also used same-day hiring events, on-site certified nursing assistant training and expanded loan-repayment eligibility to recruit workers.
The department said state facilities are working with Burke County Public Schools, Western Piedmont Community College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work on additional workforce-development programs.
State officials said the apprenticeship model could help facilities recruit employees locally while allowing participants to receive training, obtain credentials and potentially qualify for tuition assistance without taking on significant education debt.
The initial program is limited to two facilities, but its planned expansion gives it broader significance for the state-operated health system and North Carolina’s behavioral-health workforce.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
