June 25, 2012
WITH OR WITHOUT OBAMACARE, THE UNITED STATES WILL NEED
5.6 MILLION MORE HEALTHCARE WORKERS BY 2020,
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY STUDY SAYS
Study also finds that 4.6 Million of Those Jobs Will Demand Postsecondary Education
Healthcare demand will grow twice as fast as the national economy over the next eight years, creating 5.6 million new jobs, according to a study recently released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. The Georgetown Center is an independent, nonprofit research and policy institute that studies the link between individual goals, education and training curricula and career pathways.
According to this study, work in the healthcare industry is supported by people in a host of related jobs, such as hospital accountants, pharmaceutical sales representatives, doctor’s office secretaries and the like. Including all behind-the-scenes players, the healthcare industry will grow from 15.6 million jobs in 2010 to 19.8 million jobs in 2020. The demand for postsecondary education in healthcare will grow faster than in any other field except STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Education occupations, the study shows. A total of 82 percent of those 5.6 million new healthcare jobs—4.6 million--will require postsecondary education and training.
North Central Missouri College in Trenton is actively seeking to meet these healthcare needs through its participation in the new MoHealthWINs Grant Program. This grant, awarded through the U.S. Department of Labor, is the basis for a consortium of Missouri’s public two-year institutions formed to provide improvements in the way they educate adult learners in the healthcare field. Its goal is to improve the job outlook for eligible Trade Act participants, unemployed, underemployed, low-skilled and other disadvantaged learners by providing the education and training necessary for them to productively enter or re-enter the workforce. Education credentials can be earned in two years or less that prepare citizens for higher-wage, high-skill and high demand occupations through continued educational movement as a means for them to improve themselves academically, professionally and economically.
In order to accomplish this goal, NCMC is working with the consortium to construct and implement an accelerated developmental learning model as a means to increase the likelihood of learning success for students with basic learning skill gaps and needs. NCMC proposes to develop three accelerated programs – Skills Enrichment, A.A.S. in Nursing, and Pharmacy Technician. The Skills Enrichment training program is a blended (online and onsite) curriculum for which participants can receive a certificate after completion of six weeks of training. The Associate of Applied Science Degree of Nursing will be developed as an accelerated blended program (online and onsite) utilizing a modular design for completion in two academic semesters (pending approval by the Missouri State Board of Nursing). The Pharmacy Technician pathway will be an online program designed to introduce individuals into the workplace one year after they receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree and successfully complete the National Pharmacy Technician Exam.
Each of these three programs will be based on innovative approaches designed to support adult students’ learning, including development of a stackable credentialing model, multiple entrance and exit points to facilitate incremental development, the development of basic reading, writing and math skills required for students to succeed in post-secondary education, student services to provide support for course work and its associated challenges, courses in flexible formats, and the opportunity for students to apply what they learn through simulations, internships and similar opportunities.
“In healthcare, there are really two labor markets: professional and support,” said Anthony P. Carnevale, the Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and the report’s lead author. Professional jobs demand postsecondary training and advanced degrees while support jobs demand high school and some college. There is “minimal mobility” between the two, he added, “and the pay gap is enormous: The average professional worker makes 2.5 times as much as the average support worker.”
Further information about the MOHealthWINS programs which are designed to meet the demands of local healthcare labor markets can be obtained by contacting Dana Nelson, Grant Administrator, at North Central Missouri College at 660 359 3948 ext. 1357, 660 359 3622 ext. 11, or dnelson@mail.ncmissouri.edu.