Commonwealth Corporation has been investing in programs to prepare residents for the healthcare sector for more than a decade. In 2000, the Massachusetts legislature established the Extended Care Career Ladder Initiative and designated Commonwealth Corporation to design and administer grant programs to long term care and home care organizations to develop career pathways and increase the skills of their workers. 

In 2007 we began investing Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund grants in health sector education, training and employment programs designed by multi-stakeholder partnerships. These included two grants to community colleges to develop Innovative Post-Secondary Educational Models to accelerate the acquisition of healthcare certificates and degrees and three grants to acute care institutions to develop strategies for retaining older workers.  

In 2009 we established the Network of Healthcare Workforce Planning Professionals.  And in 2010 we invested $3.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in Health Care Skills Gap partnerships throughout the state.