Nov 8, 2023   SOURCE: BusinessWire

VCA Animal Hospitals Implements Kahuna’s Skills Management Software Across 14,000 Veterinary Technicians and Assistants

VCA Animal Hospitals, part of Mars Veterinary Health, demonstrates its dedication to the career advancement of veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants with the implementation of Kahuna’s skills management software. Deploying across a population of nearly 14,000, Kahuna enables VCA Associates to continuously develop their skills and advance professionally within the world of veterinary medicine.

Kahuna’s deployment is part of VCA’s Career Progression program, a newly instituted opt-in-only offering to promote clinical competency for Associates across the VCA family of veterinary hospitals. Digitizing the program in Kahuna, VCA establishes a robust competency-based staffing framework, giving veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants a more clearly defined understanding of their clinical skills and development opportunities within one system.

“VCA’s Career Progression program is making history and Kahuna is bringing it to life across our hospitals,” said Jessica Sewell, BAS CVT LVT LVMT RVT CPhT, National Career Progression Director at VCA Animal Hospitals. “We believe in our Associates, we appreciate them, and we are investing in them. This program is all about developing trust, equipping Associates with training and development opportunities, empowering them to practice at the top of their licensure and perform to their highest ability and skill level, and ensuring they are happy and fulfilled in their careers.”

Kahuna’s skills management software was built to handle granular and complex operating environments. Across VCA’s hospitals, Kahuna is digitizing a robust skills library, streamlining assessment processes, connecting learners with the right resources, and generating development plans to guide Associates in their skills development journey. Leaders across the organization can better understand the talent availability to make more strategic staffing decisions, improve mentorship and training opportunities, and tie skills to job progression.

"With Kahuna, we’re enhancing our skills program and offering career development with innovative technology. Seamless integrations with Workday and our LMS ensure clear, objective assessments, training, and development for our Associates,” said Diana Nguyen, Vice President of Knowledge and Capability Development at VCA Animal Hospitals. “For the business, Kahuna’s reporting functionality provides us with validated data to make better business decisions so that we can develop and staff our hospitals and provide quality care for patients and their families.”

“Skills transparency is a critical enabler of workforce readiness, agility, capability, and longevity. Across VCA Animal Hospitals, validated skills data will not only support and empower their veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants, but the entire organization in providing care to patients across their communities,” said Jai Shah, CEO of Kahuna Workforce Solutions. “VCA is an innovator in the veterinary industry. We are thrilled to work alongside them as they digitize, develop, and launch such a monumental skills and career advancement program within Kahuna.”

About VCA Animal Hospitals

A leader in veterinary care, VCA Animal Hospitals is committed to caring for the future of veterinary medicine. We are a family of hometown animal hospitals determined to positively impact pets, people, and our communities. From general practice to emergency and specialty care, VCA delivers world-class medicine to more than four million pets each year. Our national network of hospitals invests in cutting-edge tools, training, and technology that enables our Associates to lead the industry today and into tomorrow. Among our talented 35,000 Associates are nearly 7,000 veterinarians – including 430 who are board-certified specialists – nearly 4,000 credentialed technicians and over 10,000 veterinary assistants – all dedicated to giving pets the very best in medical care. As part of the Mars Veterinary Health family of businesses, VCA is committed to its Purpose: A Better World for Pets®. To learn more about VCA, visit: www.vcahospitals.com

About Kahuna Workforce Solutions

Kahuna Workforce Solutions is the only skills management software built for operations, learning, and human resources. Kahuna equips enterprise organizations with validated skills data to understand workforce capability, align talent supply and demand, and increase the return on training investment. Across a wide array of industries including healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and aerospace, Kahuna helps organizations build a more skilled, competitive workforce. For more information, visit www.kahunaworkforce.com.