{"id":164448,"date":"2025-12-02T17:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/164448\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T17:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:13:20","slug":"free-job-training-on-long-island-for-adults-and-teenagers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/164448\/","title":{"rendered":"Free job training on Long Island for adults and teenagers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Jean Rameau found out he was going to be a first-time parent, he dropped out of high school to work.\u00a0Now after three-plus decades, he’s back in the classroom in Hempstead and forging a new path forward as a certified health care worker.<\/p>\n

This summer, Rameau\u00a0completed a home health aide program through the Hempstead school district, one of several tuition-free initiatives offered for adults and teenagers\u00a0interested in\u00a0jumpstarting their careers. He is now working toward his\u00a0GED, also through the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese days you need a diploma…I didn’t graduate high school, so I think it\u2019s necessary for me to get back to school,” said Rameau, 53, of Hempstead.<\/p>\n

At a time when higher\u00a0education costs are soaring, and affordability \u2014 especially on Long Island \u2014 remains a concern, the Hempstead district’s adult education\u00a0program<\/a> has\u00a0launched\u00a0a new\u00a0menu of free job training opportunities. Additional classes are set to start in January.<\/p>\n

Since taking over as the district’s director of adult education in February, Audrey A. Gottlieb said she has teamed with community groups, academic institutions and industry experts to provide students\u00a0with \u201chigh-demand technical skills” in growing fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is not to give them a job, but a career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Audrey<\/p>\n

Audrey Gottlieb is the Hempstead school district’s director of adult education. Credit: Morgan Campbell<\/p>\n

In addition to the state-certified home health aide program, which includes clinical hours, the district also offers a program for personal care assistants\u00a0\u2014 health care professionals who help with daily tasks like bathing, dressing and eating.<\/p>\n

An advanced machinery program, which will teach \u201cprecision machining and advanced manufacturing,” is slated to start in January, Gottlieb said. A\u00a0pharmaceutical technician program\u00a0is also anticipated to start next year.<\/p>\n

Gottlieb said she views the courses, which are open to all Long Islanders, as\u00a0\u201cstackable credentials,\u201d meaning students can obtain overlapping certificates or licenses. There are also literacy courses to help people who might not otherwise be ready to start a certificate or licensing program.<\/p>\n

Saniyah Wyche, 22, of Hempstead, said she was selected to participate in the district’s clinical medical technician program, which, according to Gottlieb, prepares students to conduct clinical\u00a0tasks such as\u00a0taking vital signs, drawing blood and performing laboratory functions. Wyche\u00a0said she is following in the footsteps of her mother, a certified nursing assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Saniyah<\/p>\n

Saniyah Wyche Credit: Morgan Campbell<\/p>\n

Rameau said he was also inspired by a family member \u2014 his sister, who is a nurse \u2014 to enter the health care field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI figure it’s something that\u2019s not going to just benefit me, it also benefits other people,\u201d said Rameau, who can now provide basic medical assistance under supervision.<\/p>\n

He hopes the opportunities afforded to him through the program could also extend to others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’m trying to take full advantage of it. The programs can help me and help others that are in need,\u00a0who are willing to do something for their lives or help others,” Rameau said.<\/p>\n

Anyone who wants to apply for one of the district’s adult education program or learn more about its offerings can call Gottlieb at\u00a0516-434-4347.<\/p>\n

\"Lorena<\/p>\n

Lorena Mongelli has been reporting for Newsday since 2021. Prior to that, she covered breaking news at the New York Post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Jean Rameau found out he was going to be a first-time parent, he dropped out of high…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[243,163,521,85,46,98491],"class_list":{"0":"post-164448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-education","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-local-education"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}