The Cure for the Healthcare Skills Gap

Posted by Marie Murphy on May 15, 2019

While jobs are opening and remaining unfilled in industries as diverse as manufacturing and retail, one industry is facing a unique epidemic: healthcare. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare industry is expected to grow 18% between 2016 to 2026, adding 2.4 million new jobs. This growth is projected to climb particularly in patient-facing roles that do not require extensive college credentials.

These middle skilled positions include roles in health administration, clinical health care, and pharmacy settings. And as more and more hospital and nursing care systems struggle to attract workers to fill the growing number of opened positions, the challenge is amplified with high employee turnover rates. These workforce obstacles are leaving hospital and nursing care systems with soaring operating costs, negatively impacting their bottom line.

In an effort to address these challenges effectively, leading healthcare employers will have to look outside of the box to fill their skills gaps and increase employee retention and engagement.

As several employers across many industries already know, there is a breakthrough solution to better attract and retain employees through training and education. In the healthcare industry, the Penn Foster Healthcare Academy solution upskills workers with a range of credentialing programs from accredited Bachelor's degrees to career diplomas that take just a few months to complete.

As the trusted training provider for over 40,000 health workers annually, the Academy is now specifically designed for hospital and nursing care systems with wraparound support to enable them to achieve their workforce hiring goals while increasing employee engagement and overall quality of patient care. 

In combination with valuable, hands-on externship experiences, the Healthcare Academy's comprehensive online learning solutions prepare learners for leading industry exams to ensure your employees fulfill the necessary requirements of today's most in-demand healthcare roles.

It may not be explicitly what the doctor ordered, but Penn Foster's Healthcare Academy may be just what hospital and nursing care systems need.