- Fall 2004 -

Health Care Workforce Solutions

The Health Care Industry Workforce Development Forums, sponsored last fall by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (as part of the High-Growth Job Training Initiative), resulted in a number of proposed solutions. The finding will have a great impact on health care workforce. Some of the possible solutions include:

- Focusing on youth-related programs developed and implemented by partnerships among schools, health care employers, Job Corps centers, and/or post-secondary programs for health occupations, and public workforce system entities.

- Developing career ladders/lattices and industry-defined competencies that support career mobility and retention.

- Recruiting alternative labor pools (e.g., dislocated workers, older workers, veterans, the disabled.)

- Increasing the capacity of educational institutions by enhancing the availability of qualified instructors.

- Helping individuals transition from declining industries into health care occupations.

For more information on these and other health care workforce solutions, contact Angela Dayton, coordinator, at (202) 693-394 or email her at dayton.angela@dol.gov.