Butler County Community College is offering a free basic health care skills certification program at its main campus that provides training for entry-level jobs.

The 82-hour program will educate participants about health-related issues, and provide an opportunity to earn certifications and gain an edge for entry-level positions, according to Kelly McKissick, BC3’s coordinator of professional education and certificate programs.

The program is free to qualified participants as a result of a $252,000 state Department of Labor & Industry Strategic Innovation Grant awarded in April to the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board.

Before the first class, participants must pass a drug screen and background check, which are funded by the grant. They also must attend a two-hour orientation about Blackboard, an online educational software program used for instruction, and complete an online health care interest and compatibility screening.

Students at orientation will also receive contact information to schedule and attend a mandatory four hours of job shadowing in a hospital and four hours in a long-term care facility that must be completed before the first class.

Orientation is from 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 27.

The monthlong program will feature 42 hours of classroom instruction, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 24 hours of online instruction; six hours of lab; and employability training that addresses customer service, interviewing and resume building.

The program will be held in the Science and Technology building from Jan. 3 to 29. Students will complete 16 hours of online studies the week of Jan. 7 to 11.

Participants will learn about basic medical terminology, basic medical law and ethics, dementia, mental illness, lifting and moving techniques, vital signs, medication, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillators, diversity and family focused care. Students also will have the opportunity to earn certifications in CPR, AED, first aid and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance.

Entry-level positions could include direct care staff, caregivers and home-health aides for a health care industry that as of October employed the most number of workers, 13,674, in Butler County, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information and Analysis. The health care and social assistance industry employed 16 percent of Butler County’s workforce as of October and with 659 had the largest number of companies.

For more information, contact McKissick at 724-287-8711, Ext. 8171 or kelly.mckissick@bc3.edu.