Jamia Jenkins Upskills with Workforce Funded Training

Jamia Jenkins was enrolled in the Practical Nursing Program where she had been doing well – she had perfect attendance and was passing all of her coursework through the first half of her training, however, her financial situation had started to become a challenge to her success.

Jamia learned about workforce-funded training through the career center and hoped that the funding assistance would help alleviate her stress and give her one more motivating factor to continue.

Jamia met with DJ Milburn, Employment Services Professional at OhioMeansJobs Stark and Tuscarawas Counties, to help her through the application process. She shared that she hoped to become the first professional nurse in her family and make her mother proud.

She was able to complete her training, and after she passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), she was hired as an LPN at Pines Healthcare Center earning $25 per hour. Jamia stated, “The funding assistance helped me a lot. It made it easier financially to go to school. One of my biggest challenges during training was my financial situation and OhioMeansJobs helped me overcome that challenge.” She also added, “I want to thank you and OhioMeansJobs for helping me with the training through the whole process.”

Milburn added, “Jamia was a pleasure to work with. She communicated with me often and was timely and always seemed to be fighting a silent fight. She could conceal her struggle well because she poured out a positive attitude all the time. I know how much the funding opportunity changed her life.”