Medical jobs are in demand, and ABC13 Who's Hiring Job Fair has a way for you break in for free
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you've wanted to break into the medical industry, we have a way to do so, and it's free.
On Thursday, ABC13's Who's Hiring job fair focused on the health care industry. During this time, experts talked about job and educational opportunities.
One way to break in is through a scholarship through Workforce Solutions - a program that changed Cindy Harper's life.
"They were just so kind," Harper recalled. "I was broken. Broken when I went to them. They were just so kind."
Harper was emotional because Workforce Solutions helped her land a scholarship to attend the College of Health Care Professions. Since then, she's graduated and now works in medical coding and billing.
"I check all the insurance," Harper explained. "If there's a referral that's needed or an authorization code that is needed. There's all these things that need to be done, but it's fun."
WATCH: ABC13 Who's Hiring Job Fair highlights opportunities in the medical industry
Workforce Solutions has scholarships for 65 more students. You can get into medical code and billing, medical assistant, and radiological technician at one of CHCP's three locations in northwest Houston, southwest Houston, or the Texas Medical Center.
"High demand," Workforce Solutions senior planner Helena Leday said. "We're putting people in school for that all the time. There are lots of vacancies in the medical industry right now."
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows those positions are growing faster than other careers over the next decade, and they pay between $40,000 and $70,000 a year.
"We're doing our best to fill those gaps," Leday explained. "As people retire out of the field or move out of those areas, we're trying to fill those gaps in those particular areas."
On Thursday at 10 a.m., our ABC13 Who's Hiring job fair highlighted how you can apply for the scholarships. You must be 18, have a diploma, and be interested.
It's a curiosity that drove Harper.
"Everything is a challenge," Harper explained. "You have to want it, and you have to work for it. But wow, how you are guided and taken care of."
It's a rewarding experience made possible with a scholarship, and now Harper spends her time typing away and getting paid to do it.
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