New Orleans Career Center CEO Claire Jecklin discusses the surging demand for skilled labor in the building trades and healthcare sectors. Learn how the center is expanding its facilities and training programs to bridge the workforce gap in New Orleans.
In this episode of "Talk That NOLA Education," host Dr. Ja'Quil Ross takes listeners inside the workforce revolution happening at the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC). Broadcasting with a full house of guests, Dr. Ross interviews the leadership team transforming how New Orleans high schoolers prepare for high-wage, high-demand careers.
Last year, Brianna Blunt was hired at Cochon, an upscale Cajun restaurant in New Orleans. As a prep cook, she spent hours each day prepping ingredients for a range of Louisiana delicacies they might offer on a given day: catfish, crawfish, gator, rabbit, gumbo, oysters and all types of pork.
She worked alongside seasoned cooks, some with decades of experience in culinary arts around the world. It was nerve wracking. After all, she had only graduated high school two weeks prior. Her coworkers were initially skeptical of this teenager tasked with keeping up in the James Beard-nominated restaurant. Last year, Brianna Blunt was hired at Cochon, an upscale Cajun restaurant in New Orleans. As a prep cook, she spent hours each day prepping ingredients for a range of Louisiana delicacies they might offer on a given day: catfish, crawfish, gator, rabbit, gumbo, oysters and all types of pork.
She worked alongside seasoned cooks, some with decades of experience in culinary arts around the world. It was nerve wracking. After all, she had only graduated high school two weeks prior. Her coworkers were initially skeptical of this teenager tasked with keeping up in the James Beard-nominated restaurant.
Nine recent graduates of the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program at the New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) have joined the ranks of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (EMS), bolstering the city’s emergency response workforce.
The NOCC program, developed in collaboration with New Orleans EMS, is designed to help ease the agency’s staffing shortage. New Orleans EMS reports its workforce has fallen by nearly 14% since 2019, largely due to budget cuts and retention challenges. This reflects the broader shortage of healthcare workers in the greater New Orleans region.
The EMT program at NOCC is structured as an apprenticeship in which trainees are paid as recruits during their 6-month training period.
Twenty-eight recent graduates of New Orleans Career Center (NOCC) have launched careers and apprenticeships with employers across the region, filling critical roles in healthcare, construction, hospitality, and more. More than 800 young people entered or returned to career prep and technical training programs at NOCC this week.
Hired by organizations such as Ochsner Health, LCMC Health, All-Star Electric, Tulane University, Castellon Pharmacy, and The Windsor Court, these new professionals are working as apprentice electricians, medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, blood donor technicians, and facilities apprentices—roles that offer living wages, benefits, and advancement opportunities.
Since 2018, NOCC has trained more than 2,100 high school students and adults for middle-skill careers in five key sectors: healthcare, building trades, digital media, engineering/manufacturing, and culinary arts/hospitality management.
