Key points:
As the U.S. faces a shortage of critical healthcare workers, career and technical education (CTE) can help fill the pipeline and link students to valuable career opportunities.
Training healthcare workers to fill an increasing gap between available jobs and highly-qualified candidates begins in high school–and there is where CTE enters the picture, according to a new report from iCEV, conducted by Catapult X.
The World Health Organization predicts a shortfall of about 10 million healthcare workers by 2030–an alarming projection that highlights the need to help interested students explore healthcare fields. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2032, the U.S. will need about 1.8 million healthcare workers.
“As a global community, we need to engage students while they are young, partnering with industry, and ensuring that all CTE educators have the tools, lab activities, career exploration materials, and support to inspire the next generation of healthcare workers. Collectively, our health, quality of life, and longevity depend upon it,” said Dusty Moore, president/CEO of iCEV.
Access to industry certifications through CTE programs enable students to demonstrate their skills, qualifications, and capabilities to employers immediately, connecting them with valuable career opportunities to fill the healthcare worker pipeline.
But to do this, CTE programs need highly-qualified educators with industry experience. In fact, securing teachers with industry experience is a top challenge for 60 percent of district CTE leaders, according to the iCEV study.
That challenge is followed closely by securing CTE program funding (53 percent), retaining qualified teachers (51 percent), developing work-based learning opportunities for students (48 percent), and finding engaging instructional materials (32 percent).
Student engagement remains a challenge, too–17 percent of CTE educators said they grapple with a lack of student interest in the health science career pathway as their top challenge. Developing work-based learning opportunities, finding engaging instructional materials, providing accommodations, and preparing students for industry certifications are among other top challenges cited.
Here are 5 actionable steps for CTE programs:
1. Secure partnerships with local healthcare institutions for access to internships, expensive and/or large healthcare equipment, and information about trends in the healthcare industry.
2. Offer a wide variety of industry recognized credentials and exams in dual credit programs, and encourage students take two or more courses in a single CTE Healthcare cluster.
3. Train school staff in best practices for CTE placement, focusing on student interest and prerequisite skills.
4. Create evaluation and vetting committees composed of CTE educators and administrators to review instructional materials, curriculum, resources, and vendor services.
5. Develop relationships with employers to learn about job-readiness expectations and incorporate those into CTE courses.
