EVERETT — The unemployment rate for Snohomish County rose to 9.6 percent in June but the announcement of a $4.8 million grant for Everett Community College has offered hope to the region.

The grant will be used to train new health care professionals, a career field that is expected to have increased demand in coming years as baby boomers age into retirement.

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, accompanied by U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., announced the grant on June 29. It is expected to help EvCC fund the Healthcare Education-to-Career Opportunities project, or HECO.

“We are extremely pleased,” EvCC President David Beyer said in a prepared statement. “This funding strengthens our ongoing efforts to address our region’s nursing shortage, giving more students the opportunity to train for high-demand jobs. As a result, our region’s health care providers will be able to hire more of the skilled employees they need to care for patients in our communities.”

Beyer’s pleasure is shared by many other health care professionals around the area.

Kim Williams, a nurse at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and a board member of the Washington Center for Nursing, values the high caliber of graduates that Providence receives from EvCC nursing programs.

She believes the grant will make a big difference to the region as new graduates are able to enter the field and meet the coming demands for more health care workers.

“The grant that EvCC has received to expand the nursing program will have a significant impact on health care in Snohomish County,” Williams said. “We know that in order to keep up with need for RNs in Washington state, nursing programs need to increase enrollment by 400 students a year, beginning in 2010.”

Figures from the Washington Center for Nursing project that if an increase in enrollment does not happen soon, there will be a statewide nursing shortage of up to 20,000 registered nurses by 2020.

One way EvCC will use the grant money is to add evening sessions to the existing registered nursing program beginning in October. The HECO project will also train students for other much-needed health care positions such as phlebotomy technicians and medical assistants.

The EvCC grant was part of $125 million in grants going to 41 community colleges and organizations nationwide. The colleges were selected in the fifth and final round of the Community-Based Job Training Grant awards from the U.S. Department of Labor.

In all 323 colleges applied for one of the Community-Based Job Training grants in this final round. The funds are specifically intended for the community college system and must be used in training for high-demand occupations such as health care.

In addition to praising EvCC in winning the coveted grant award, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon also hailed another recent development that should benefit local job seekers.

In June, WorkSource Everett relocated to the third floor of Everett Station and nearly doubled the number of computers available for job searches, resume preparation and training.

“Both the Everett Community College grant and the WorkSource upgrade will provide valuable and much-needed job-training opportunities for our growing and diverse population,” he said.

On the web

Learn about Everett Community College’s health care opportunities at www.everettcc.edu.