Training and Workforce Development
The Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) provides leadership and support to enhance the US laboratory workforce through initiatives that strengthen recruitment, retention, continuing education, and training. DLS’ training resources help laboratory and testing professionals in clinical and public health settings combat emerging threats and stay current with the newest practices, standards, and technologies. DLS also develops frameworks, models, and resources that support laboratory-related competencies for practicing laboratory professionals and participants in laboratory fellowships and internships.
DLS develops and disseminates a growing inventory of free educational and training resources that help laboratories continually improve. This includes eLearning and virtual reality courses, training of trainers programs, toolkits, job aids, webinars, and print materials. DLS also supports a growing community of practice amongst laboratory professionals, provides resources to partners on training and workforce development activities, and brings partners together to identify and address laboratory workforce issues at the national level.
OneLab Initiative
- Bridge, train, and sustain a capacity-building community among clinical and public health laboratory professionals to support rapid, large-scale responses to public health emergencies.
- Assess OneLab Network members’ training needs.
- Host webinars and summits that address the training needs of clinical and public health laboratory training and education professionals.
Training and Educational Materials
- Provide competency-building content across nearly 100 laboratory topics to help keep clinical and public health laboratory professionals proficient in areas such as essential laboratory methodologies, new test procedures, informatics, and quality and safety topics.
- Apply instructional design support and knowledge of adult learning best practices to develop and assess effective training products to maintain a competent, prepared, and sustainable national laboratory workforce.
- Design innovative, comprehensive, and convenient training products including eLearning courses, training of trainers programs, and webinars focused on diagnostic testing, preparedness, informatics, quality, safety, and packing and shipping of dangerous goods.
- Develop virtual reality training that allow laboratory professionals to apply, assess, and improve their skills in a safe and controlled learning environment.
- Develop job aids to assist clinical and public health laboratory professionals with diagnostic testing, preparedness, informatics, quality, safety, and packing and shipping of dangerous goods.
- Provide laboratory training eLearning syndication for organizations to syndicate CDC laboratory eLearning courses to their learning management systems.
- Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of public health laboratory education and training, including measuring the outcomes of transferring knowledge and skills to improved laboratory practice.
Workforce Development
- Recruit and retain a large, diverse laboratory workforce through competency-based internship and fellowship opportunities in state, local, and territorial public health laboratories in collaboration with the Association for Public Health Laboratories (APHL).
- Support the development, promotion, and adoption of competencies relevant to the laboratory workforce through implementation of public health laboratory competency guidelines.
- Provide leadership development opportunities for public health laboratory staff through collaboration with APHL.
- Fund partners to characterize the laboratory workforce and conduct research related to the workforce shortage.
- Collaborate with public health laboratory and clinical laboratory partners to develop a national workforce strategic plan.
Over 80,000
Registrations per year across all learning platforms (OneLab REACH, CDC TRAIN, STEAM, etc.)
Over 80,000
Registrations per year across all learning platforms (OneLab REACH, CDC TRAIN, STEAM, etc.)
Over 2,500
OneLab Network members
Over 2,500
OneLab Network members
Over 100
Training resources available on OneLab REACH, with more to come
Over 100
Training resources available on OneLab REACH, with more to come
Over 3,000
Expected fellowship and internship opportunities to expand the public health laboratory workforce pipeline through APHL-CDC’s Career Pathways in Public Health Laboratory Science Program
Over 3,000
Expected fellowship and internship opportunities to expand the public health laboratory workforce pipeline through APHL-CDC’s Career Pathways in Public Health Laboratory Science Program
Over 4,000
Learners completed the
Ready? Set? Test! eLearning course on preparing and performing waived testing per year
Over 4,000
Learners completed the
Ready? Set? Test! eLearning course on preparing and performing waived testing per year
Over 25,000
P.A.C.E.® certificates awarded to clinical and public health laboratory professionals each year on average
Over 25,000
P.A.C.E.® certificates awarded to clinical and public health laboratory professionals each year on average