A recently released “skills gap” report by the American Staffing Association said that seven out of the ten hardest-to-fill jobs in the nation are those associated with hands-on health care. The Association compared numbers of job openings, qualified candidates, and the total working population of various job sectors in order to determine which jobs were the most difficult to fill with workers who had the right skills.
While the unemployment rate in the United States is currently at a six-year low (around 5.8%), there are still approximately 9 million people in America who are looking for work. A “skills gap” happens when there’s a disparity between the people who are looking for a job and employers who need skilled workers to fill their jobs. According to the American Staffing Association, the 10 hardest-to-fill jobs were occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, physical therapists and physical therapy assistants, speech/language pathologists, physician assistants, and postsecondary teachers and instructors of nursing. (Outside of the health care sector, the Association also listed merchandise displayers and window dressers, computer applications software engineers, and drivers of heavy equipment and tractor-trailer trucks among the hardest-to-fill jobs.)
What does this mean for Kansas City workers?
The skills gap report shows us a lot of opportunity for skilled, hands-on health care workers, but also shows the need for more programs and services that provide on the job training for our our less skilled workers in order to move them into many of these higher paying, unfilled positions.
Several KC area hospitals are breaking ground on new facilities or expanding existing ones, which means new opportunities for people who want to work in healthcare. Saint Luke’s Health System recently signed a Letter of Intent with Centerre Healthcare to form a partnership with the intention of building a freestanding inpatient rehab hospital in KC. The hospital, which would include a dedicated stroke and brain injury unit, would bring the most up-to-date specialized therapy and equipment to patients suffering from strokes, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and other life altering conditions. The 60,000 square foot, 60-bed hospital is expected to open in 2016.
Located just north of Saint Luke’s Hospital in Westport, Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing. One of the greatest skills gaps in the report was in the lack of nursing instructors, as many who go into nursing want to work with patients rather than teach future nurses. Skilled healthcare instructors are always in demand and may be an appealing position for teachers looking for a career change. Many hospitals, like Saint Luke’s, are starting to incorporate new programs for healthcare instructors into their existing framework.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) also has extensive healthcare educational facilities at their Volker and Hospital Hill campus locations. These include access to libraries, resource centers, audiovisual resources, data processing and science information specialists who can assist people in learning the skills they need to work in skilled healthcare positions. UMKC’s affiliated clinical facilities include Truman Medical Center, Children’s Mercy Hospital and nearly 100 other community-wide facilities in the Kansas City metro area.
Speaking of Truman Medical Centers, earlier this year, Truman Medical Centers also broke ground on a new outpatient center located at 2101 Charlotte in Kansas City, MO. Built in partnership with Landmark Healthcare Facilities, Sabates Eye Centers, University Physician Associates, and the National Real Estate Advisors and Regions Bank, the Hospital Hill Outpatient Center will be the first freestanding Truman Medical Centers building to be constructed on Hospital Hill since 1998. When it opens in the summer of 2015, the 90,000 square foot facility will include Sabates Eye Centers, UMKC Vision Research Center, Eye Foundation of Kansas City, an ambulatory surgery center, diagnostic imaging center, physical/speech and occupational therapy, a plastic surgery center and medi-spa, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopaedic surgery, urology, podiatry, gastroenterology, audiology, and ear, nose and throat centers.
Healthcare facilities all over Kansas City are growing, which means job opportunities for skilled workers will continue to climb, and educational programs to train and recruit more skilled workers will continue to flourish. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Healthcare industry has over 13 million jobs and the need is only growing. As other industries decline and lose positions, the healthcare industry continues to skyrocket, which only means great things for the future of our Kansas City healthcare workforce!