NCWorks Prepares Young Professionals With The Skills And Knowledge For Careers In Health Care
(ECU Health) — NCWorks is an initiative through the state of North Carolina for young adults aged 18 to 24 who are interested in exploring careers in health care. The program brings together various statewide agencies including the Department of Commerce, Public Instruction and the NC community college system to create opportunities for young jobseekers to find employment.
NCWorks offers tools, resources and knowledge needed to build a strong foundation for participants to begin their career. ECU Health is one of many work sites across the state for the NCWorks program.
In addition to helping young adults gain valuable skills, the program also creates a pipeline of talent that potentially leads to participants becoming members of the ECU Health team. By equipping young professionals for success, ECU Health strengthens its workforce and contributes to the local community by acting on the mission of improving the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina.
The program runs for approximately three months during which participants are part-time team members at ECU Health, gaining hands-on experience in a health care setting. During these three months, they learn about roles in health care from their fellow team members.
Throughout the program, participants are supported with continuous coaching from the workforce development team through learning skills and receiving guidance to help them thrive in professional environments. Both technical and soft skills are important for working in a professional environment and the program helps them develop and navigate these skills.
Program participants also receive guidance and mentorship from current ECU Health team members to learn the ins-and-outs of the workplace. At the end of the program, participants understand the importance of ECU Health’s mission, vision and values and have embedded that into their daily work.
Kara Dozier, a member of the Food and Nutrition Services team, is currently serving as an ambassador and the first participant of the NCWorks Project at ECU Health.
Kara got involved in the program when she met Toyta Kee, a talent pipeline consultant at ECU Health, at a job fair at the Greenville Convention Center. “I saw Ms. Toyta’s ECU Health sign and decided I’m going to talk to her and see what this is about. I did, and I gave her my application that I had printed out, and she said she would contact me,” Kara said.
Kara reached out to Toyta and got connected with the NCWorks program, which Kara has now been a part of since October 2024.
“Overall, my favorite thing about the program is it allows me to be more self-sufficient and provides a great opportunity for different positions at ECU Health,” she says, “I definitely would recommend this program to everybody who’s interested because it is a great opportunity for anybody who wants to get their foot into the ECU Health door!”