Florida Senior Living Association and myCNAjobs, the nation’s largest career network for front-line healthcare workers, announces a partnership to drive senior living career awareness and help Floridians get back to work via a Caregiver Certification and job placement program. 

With one of the highest elderly populations in the nation, Florida senior living communities struggled to recruit CNAs and other front-line care roles pre-COVID. The pandemic presented new challenges and compounded a profession with little industry awareness with fears of the unknown of what a job is like working behind community doors.  

“COVID-19 has created many challenges for our sector, but also a unique opportunity,” says Gail Matillo, President of Florida Senior Living Association. “We need to capitalize on this moment to invest in a stronger, healthier workforce and that starts with ensuring people understand what the profession is and developing the right skills to succeed in their jobs.”

According to numbers released in mid August by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, statewide unemployment rose from 10.3% to 11.3%, which translates to 1.13 million out-of-work Floridians. 

The Caregiver Certification course, built by myCNAjobs and Beth-Anne Christopher, Rush University Professor of Nursing, is a 4-hour mobile friendly training program including both fundamentals of a job in care and how to approach a career. After completing the course, people can be immediately scheduled for interviews and matched with local employers. 

“This is a multi-faceted strategy that involves not only bringing more awareness to careers in aging, but also bringing together the association and over 400 senior living executives to have an important dialogue on the needs of frontline workers to coach up a vulnerable population and ensure there’s a true career path,” says Brandi Kurtyka, CEO of Tampa-based myCNAjobs.com. “Immediately, we can drive awareness to get Floridians back to work while setting the stage for a dialogue on ensuring senior living is a profession people want to work longer-term.”

To learn more, visit Florida Senior Living Association or view the Caregiver Certification course here. 

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About Florida Senior Living Association: The Florida Senior Living Association is the preeminent association representing companies that operate professionally managed senior living communities offering independent, assisted living, and memory care services. FSLA represents professionally-managed providers who care for more than 17 residents in one location.