“Peak Pathways Career Development” program at Marquis offers employees forgivable
student loans to attend Concorde’s Portland campus
Concorde Career Colleges and Marquis Companies are pleased to announce the continuation of their successful partnership to address the demand for licensed practical nurses in Oregon.
Existing Marquis employees can apply for a $12,000 forgivable student loan to attend the nursing program at the Concorde–Portland campus in exchange for a multi-year work commitment once they are licensed as nurses. For each year of service, Marquis forgives $4,000 of the loan.
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“We’re pleased that Marquis chose Concorde and our nursing program as a place to invest in their employees’ education. Our partnership offers a wonderful example of how employers can develop a career pathway for high-potential employees. Making educational attainment more accessible and affordable for these valued employees improves retention, decreases recruiting costs and provides a solution for filling in-demand roles,” said Kevin Prehn, President of Concorde Career Colleges.
Marquis Companies first approached Concorde during the height of the pandemic when they faced competition with hospitals for LPN graduates due to the growing nursing shortage. The company was looking for novel ways to upskill their existing employees.
“We needed to find a way to support and develop our own staff who have proven loyalty, competence and capability. We reached out to Concorde with this idea to partner and further develop our internal ‘Peak Pathways Career Development’ program through a forgivable loan model, and it has truly taken off,” said Meagan English, Chief People Officer, Marquis Companies.
While the competition with hospitals for LPNs has tapered off for senior living facilities, demand for skilled practical nurses remains high in the region. Projected job growth in the Portland Tri-County area is 9.8% from 2023-2033, which is much faster than the national average.
Marquis employees undergo a rigorous internal application process, including multiple written essays and one to three letters of recommendation from internal leadership. Employees must also have a minimum of 6 months tenure with Marquis and be in good standing. Thirteen Marquis employees have graduated so far, and an additional 12 employees are currently attending the program. Marquis “Peak Pathways” model in partnership with Concorde has created an additional pathway and important resources for Marquis employees, with a highly reputable partner in Concorde.
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“Our partnership with Concorde has been an exceptional success as the employees we send to Concorde’s nursing program are already high performing and passionately committed to senior health care and Marquis. We have found good return on investment by developing nurses for our sector in this way,” added English.
The next phase of the partnership for Marquis is to increase the cohort size of employees who start the program to ensure even greater outcomes. Rather than have multiple small cohorts start throughout the year, English is aiming for one large cohort per year.
“We find that it’s better for our employees when they’re in the same cohort together because they can support each other, study together and develop long term relationships across our family of communities,” said English.
Marquis is aiming for their next cohort of employees to start Concorde’s nursing program in July.
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Source – PR Newswire
