Adult English language learners are the focus of filling state’s need for a half-million new healthcare professionals
California adult schools, including those in the Ventura area, are working together to solve two big problems facing the state: A shortage of healthcare professionals and lack of opportunities for English language learners.
Since 2023, Moorpark Adult School has launched three online programs to train students for healthcare careers—pharmacy technician, medical billing and coding and certified medical administrative assistant. The programs were made possible due to funding provided by the state’s English Language Learners (ELL) Healthcare Pathways grant. As part of the 2022-23 budget act, $130 million dollars was allocated to create vocational pathways for ELL participants looking to become healthcare professionals.
“It’s estimated that California needs around 500,000 new healthcare professionals,” says Moorpark Adult School Principal Sean Abajian. “We’re proud to be expanding educational opportunities for students across Ventura County.”
“We’ve already seen the impact of this approach, with students improving their language proficiency and securing positions in the field.”
Sean Abajian, Principal, Moorpark Adult School
Abajian says the new classes—which the Moorpark school partnered with the Ojai Unified School District, Santa Paula Adult School and the Fillmore Adult School to implement—have been very well-received.
“Our medical billing and coding program had such high demand that there was a 100-person wait-list,” he says. “We’re quickly adding more sections to accommodate as many students as we can.”
Abajian says the focus of the adult school is currently on Spanish-speaking students, with a major element being instructors who are fluent in both English and Spanish.
“Students can opt for the Spanish language course sections enabling them to improve their English while gaining critical technical skills and opening doors to stable, well-paying jobs in healthcare,” he says.
Moorpark Adult School and the organizations it collaborated with to make the classes possible are members of the Ventura County Adult Education Consortium (VCAEC), a partnership of local educational institutions, community organizations and workforce development agencies dedicated to providing adults with access to educational and training opportunities that promote personal growth, employment, and community engagement in the region.
Abajian, who was raised in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and started his career in education 25 years ago teaching English as a second language in Spain, has had a storied career in adult education in California spanning decades. His research on instructional technologies has been published in peer-reviewed journals on three continents. He is also no stranger to local collaboration, having spearheaded an award-winning partnership between Ventura County and the VCAEC to provide free transportation to 10,000 adult school students.
While there is still a lot of work needed before the 500,000 gap in healthcare professionals is filled, Abajian says he is optimistic about reaching that goal after witnessing the results at the Moorpark Adult School.
“We’ve already seen the impact of this approach, with students improving their language proficiency and securing positions in the field,” Abajian says. “Our goal is to continue expanding access to these programs and empower even more individuals to enter the healthcare workforce.”
For more information about opportunities available at the Moorpark Adult School, visit adulted.mrpk.org. To learn more about the Ventura County Adult Education Consortium, go vcaec.org.
Written by Jacob Peterson
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | Careers in Health Care – English as a Second Language |
