Behavioral Health Apprenticeships
HCAC is committed to addressing the needs of the state’s behavioral health workforce. The Behavioral Healthcare (BH) Apprenticeship Program is a registered statewide apprenticeship program that aims to: promote accessibility to services, build a pathway of skilled and diverse candidates, and stabilize the behavioral health workforce through increased employee motivation and retention.
HCAC offers 1-2 year BH apprenticeships in the following fields:
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- Behavioral Health Technician (Factsheet – PDF)
- Peer Counselor (Factsheet – PDF)
- Substance Use Disorder Professional (Factsheet – PDF)
Have questions? Contact us or visit our FAQs page.
The Need
In 2020, more than 22% of Washingtonian adults reported having some kind of mental illness. And 25% of them reported not being able to access care.
The ongoing national behavioral healthcare crisis has illuminated the need for:
- A qualified, committed, and skilled professional workforce: Behavioral health needs have skyrocketed as a result of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and our healthcare systems are struggling to meet this demand. As a result, people are waiting too long to access services.
- A diversified workforce: Many patients are unable to receive effective care from healthcare professionals who adequately understand their life experiences, speak their language, or have contextual knowledge of their unique social situations.
The apprenticeship program is something we would highly recommend. It’s obvious that the instructors care about our programs…There is remote learning that doesn’t take the employees out of the workplace for long periods of time. This is nice for the employer, but it’s also nice for the employees, because their paychecks and some of the work they’re doing day to day remains consistent. And they’re able to apply what they’re learning very quickly!
I don’t have to worry about missing school to go to work. I’m still doing my regular job at the same time. It was an easy transition into going to school as well with this program. I’m grateful for this opportunity and all who are involved with the apprenticeship program. Without this program, I wouldn’t be able to follow my ideal career path.