DANBURY and NORWALK — Dalio Education has donated $5.1 million to hospital operator Nuvance Health to support its newest workforce development initiative, the Academy for Career Readiness.
This innovative initiative, spearheaded by Nuvance Health – a subsidiary of Northwell Health –and designed in collaboration with Dalio Education, will empower young people in Norwalk and Danbury with the skills and opportunities needed for successful careers in health care. Dalio Education works with educators, schools, non-profit organizations, and communities across Connecticut to engage young people and achieve positive youth outcomes.
“We are grateful to Nuvance Health for their partnership on this issue of preparing young people experiencing disconnection with the skills and training they need to enter the workforce in Connecticut,” said Barbara Dalio, founder and CEO of Dalio Education. “These young people have dreams, aspirations and tremendous potential but lack opportunities and face barriers many of us cannot imagine.”
The Academy for Career Readiness is the latest in a series of Nuvance Health initiatives aimed at fostering economic self-sufficiency and career development among local youth.
The academy includes five pillars of targeted workforce planning for the community at large. They include disengaged youth, high school students, young adults with disabilities, college pathways and adults with barriers to entry.
The donation also comes at a critical time as Connecticut faces a shortage of health care workers, threatening the pipeline needed to care for the state’s growing aging population. Meanwhile, 119,000 of the state’s 14-to-26-year-olds, including 1,356 in Norwalk and 1,619 in Danbury, are at-risk or disconnected from education and employment systems that can help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.
These statistics, uncovered in Dalio Education’s commissioned research report, Connecticut’s Unspoken Crisis, were the impetus for the 2023 “119K Crisis” campaign, which spotlighted the 1 in 5 young people in Connecticut who are disconnected.
As part of its response to these findings, Dalio Education’s new partnership with Nuvance Health will create pathways to careers in health care for a population of young people whom most workforce readiness programs are not designed to support.
“We are profoundly grateful to Dalio Education for their generous donation, which will significantly advance our Academy for Career Readiness initiative,” said Katie Cullinan, Nuvance Health’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
Launching initially at Norwalk Hospital and then expanding to Danbury Hospital in subsequent years, the Academy for Career Readiness aims to reconnect and employ up to 225 young people ages 18 to 26 experiencing disconnection in the greater Norwalk area during its initial years.
“Nuvance Health is proud to pioneer innovative workforce development programs that not only enhance career opportunities for these young individuals but also ensure a robust and sustainable healthcare workforce for the future,” Cullinan said. “Together, we are making a lasting impact on our communities and setting a new standard for career development in health care.”
