CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland will bolster its academic health information technology program with $7,116,493 awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“These funds will train Ohio workers for the high-tech jobs of the 21st century,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who announced the award Feb. 1. “Northeast Ohio is a leader in providing cutting-edge healthcare, and health information technology represents the future of this industry. This grant will enable Tri-C to give Ohio workers the skills needed for high-tech health jobs. By matching our workforce training programs with regional, high-growth clusters – like healthcare in Northeast Ohio – we can put Ohioans back to work and attract new employers.”

Community colleges across the country that have developed training programs for specialists in the health IT workforce to staff extension centers and providers’ offices have received $32 million in second year funding, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT announced last week.

[See also: $80M more for RECs, HIEs and workforce programs.]

The National Coordinator, David Blumenthal, MD, said the 84 community colleges are “on track to ramp up and graduate an estimated 10,500 students a year.”

Cuyahoga Community College is Ohio’s oldest and largest multi-campus community college. Tri-C ranks 1st in Ohio and 45th in the nation in conferring associate degrees in all disciplines.

Brown recently announced plans to reintroduce the Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act, which addresses the disparity between high unemployment rates and a shortage of skilled workers for many emerging industries.

[See also: War on talent about to begin in healthcare IT.]

Despite the nation’s 9.3 percent unemployment rate, there is still demand in today's labor market for skilled workers. This is particularly true for “middle-skill” jobs that require more than a high school degree but less than a four-year college degree. These jobs make up nearly half of America’s labor market and provide good compensation for workers.

The SECTORS Act would organize stakeholders connected to a regional industry-multiple firms, unions, education and training providers, and local workforce and education system administrators-to develop plans for growing that industry. Eligible entities would be able to apply for a one year planning grant of up to $250,000 and a three year implementation grant of up to $2.5 million.