Governor Walz Announces $2.5 Million Investment to Extend the NextGen Free Nursing Assistant Training Program

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Anna Mowry

Last week, Governor Walz announced an additional $2.5 million in American Recovery Plan funding to continue the state’s Next Generation Nursing Assistant Training Program (NextGen) until Feb. 2023.

Background

The NextGen initiative began in Dec. 2021 when Governor Tim Walz invested $3.4 million of American Rescue Plan funding to provide free nursing assistant training. Led by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE), the program aimed to recruit and train 1,000 new certified nursing assistants, covering the costs of instruction, scrubs, testing, and more.

Earlier this year, the initiative surpassed its goal, training over 1,300 Minnesotans, including individuals trained through LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s OnTrack program.

NextGen Round 2

The new funding of $2.5 million will allow the Next Generation Nursing Assistant initiative to run until Feb. 2023 to recruit and train an additional 800 students. The funding will cover the cost of instruction, testing, and other student support.

With this next round of funding, training programs will need to incorporate two hours of employer engagement into their instruction to help students secure employment after training.

LeadingAge Minnesota will help inform the development of this second initiative and will continue to advocate for additional efforts to address the critical need for nursing assistants in our field.

Free CNA Training Available Now

Free training courses are available now on the OHE website, and soon, more training will be added. Courses will be offered in-person and hybrid throughout Minnesota.

As the program gets underway, LeadingAge Minnesota will provide more information to providers on opportunities to connect with NextGen nursing assistants. If you have questions, please contact Anna Mowry, Director of Workforce Solutions.