NextStep, a Seattle, WA-based skills training and job placement company, raised $3.6M in funding.
Backers included Springrock Ventures (lead), Jazz Venture Partners, Learn Capital’s LearnStart fund, and the managing directors of Pioneer Square Labs.
Led by Chris Hedrick, CEO, NextStep is a mobile-based training and job placement company aiming to expand the supply of qualified Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) to address the nation’s caregiver shortage crisis.
Through courses delivered on mobile devices in 10-15 minute modules that can be consumed during a commute or after hours, displaced workers with experience in service and hospitality roles can retrain for jobs in the health care industry with higher earning and promotion potential.
Through a pilot in the state of Colorado approved by the state’s Board of Nursing, NextStep has already enrolled more than 2,000 learners. Graduates are placed in jobs with NextStep’s employer partners.
The company is also contributing directly to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, through its National COVID-Ready Caregiver Certificate, which trains CNAs, home health aides, and other frontline caregivers on essential health guidelines to reduce the risk of infection and safely assist with caregiving during the COVID-19 response. More than 200 health care employers nationally have signed up in the first week since the certificate’s launch, extending access to over 10,000 caregivers.
FinSMEs
10/04/2020