Individuals looking to start careers in the health occupations are encouraged to enroll in the eight-week evening Nursing Assistant class Nicolet College will offer at Northland Pines High School in Eagle River.

The class will meet 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays Jan. 20 to March 15.

Upon completion, students will have the opportunity to take the state certification exam, which is required to work as a Nursing Assistant in Wisconsin.

“It’s becoming increasingly common for graduates who pass the certification exam to enter the workforce and also continue taking classes at Nicolet,” said Connie Gensler, Nicolet Nursing Assistant instructor.

“They use Nursing Assistant as a stepping stone to any of a number of higher credentials that include the two-year associate degrees in Nursing and Radiography at Nicolet.”

She noted that the Nicolet Nursing Assistant certificate also serves as a pre-requisite for other health programs at two-year and four-year campuses such as physical and occupational therapy and physician assistant.

Nursing Assistants are commonly employed in long-term care facilities, hospitals, community-based residential facilities, and home health agencies.

Gensler said demand is high for those with a college credential in the health occupations with job placement rates for Nicolet graduates commonly in the 90 to 100 percent range.

According to the college’s 2013-14 Graduate Follow-up Report, the median annual starting wage for Nursing Assistant graduates was $22,219 and almost twice that at $41,493 for those graduating with the two-year associate degree in Nursing.

For more information, or to register, visitnicoletcollege.edu or call the Nicolet College Welcome Center at (715) 365-4493, 1-800-544-3039, ext. 4493; TTY 1-800-947-3529 or 711.