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After welcoming its inaugural class of students studying for two-year degrees last fall, Dominican University’s Chicago Campus launched two new workforce-centered programs this year.

The Basic Nurse Assistant Training Program (BNATP) certificate and certificates in cybersecurity are the latest offerings aimed at putting students on the path to an in-demand career.

The BNATP certificate prepares individuals to become certified nursing assistants through classroom and clinical education. Upon completing the non-credit program, students will be able to take the Illinois Nurse Assistant/Aide Competency Exam (NACE), certifying them as a CNA.

“COVID showed us the great disparities that exist across different communities when it comes to health and access to quality of healthcare,” said Dr. Gema Ortega, executive director of academic affairs at the Chicago Campus. “Having more trained health professionals who come from our communities and serve the communities they know goes a long way to close the gaps and differences between communities with more resources and those that are underserved.”

The first group of future CNAs to enroll in the program are students from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, located near the Chicago Campus in the Pilsen neighborhood. In addition to their classroom study, they, like all participants in the program, can experience what working with actual patients is like through practice with manikins in a simulation lab.

Cristo Rey, a partner of Dominican University, has a work-study program that allows students to pursue professional opportunities one day each week, Ortega said.

“Students are thriving in the program,” she noted. “Not only are they learning how to perform the 21 skills required to pass the exam, but they are also learning how to be health professionals in an industry that is very demanding, but so necessary in the community.”

The Chicago Campus’ noncredit cybersecurity certificate program allows students to choose up to four certificates in four concentration areas: IT Fundamentals, Systems Security, Digital Forensics and Ethical Hacking. The courses each last eight weeks.

These certificates are available to all ages and provide students with a skill set that can be used as entry to a profession or as a boost to change careers or enhance an existing one, Ortega said.

“The digital divide affects people who do not have access to technology,” she said. “Awareness, access and knowledge of technology empower people and improve their quality of life.”

Efforts are also underway to launch the Medical and Legal Interpretation certificate program in the fall, Ortega said.