LEWISTON – Lewiston Adult Education has been awarded a grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to pilot the Transition to College and Careers Program to help Lewiston-Auburn area residents prepare for careers in the health care field.

The program will be offered at no cost to participants. The goal of the program is to connect members of the community with careers in health care that will encourage advancement and better support the program participants and their families.

The program will combine a college readiness curriculum with intense career planning. Designed for incumbent health care employees who are looking to advance, for adults who have lost jobs and need re-training, and for any non-traditionally aged student who would like to take college courses to prepare for work in health care, the program will provide the academic preparation and career planning needed to make their matriculation into a degree program a success.

The Transition to College and Careers Program is structured so that participants will be able to continue working while they receive the training they need to climb the career ladder.

Participants working in an entry-level position will find and prepare for a college program as they continue to gain work experience to become qualified for more advanced positions in the health care field.

The career planning component of the Transition to College and Careers Program will be comprised of individual and group career advising, support networking, job shadowing, mentoring, interest and skill inventories and communication and self-advocacy training.

Participants in the program will be part of a cohort support system that will give them knowledge about and access to the appropriate resources available in the community.

The college readiness component of the program will help participants refresh the skills they will need to do college-level work, learn the computer technology that will be utilized in college classes and support participants in the application and financial aid process.

The first Transition to College and Careers Program will be available in January. More information will be available at www.lewistonadulted.org this fall. Inquiries regarding the program may be directed to Eva Giles at 795-4141.