There are currently seven million unfilled jobs in the United States. Many of these are in the healthcare professions.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on addressing shortages in the healthcare workforce as well as improving care. Particular emphasis was placed on making sure that all areas of the country, rural and urban, were well served and that the workforce was representative of the general population.
It is clear from available data that community colleges are essential to addressing shortages in large swaths of the healthcare workforce, especially with regard to a diverse workforce serving all parts of the United States.
Community colleges lead in meeting demand
Community colleges are the major educators of students preparing for in-demand healthcare occupations requiring an associate degree. As such, they serve as a direct pipeline to community health care. Graduates across the country number in the tens of thousands, representing a high percentage of minorities. Community colleges also prepare students to pursue advanced education in numerous healthcare fields.
To help community colleges to operate, and in some cases expand, their healthcare programs to meet the geographic and overall shortages in healthcare professions, AACC continues to work with both chambers of Congress as well as Executive Branch agencies. This involves advocating for adequate and sustained federal student and institutional aid that enables low-income students to attend and succeed in these programs. This also entails advocating for resources to support rural economic development, nursing and allied health students and programs in two-year institutions, including an amendment to Title VIII of the Public Health Act, and a myriad of other programs that foster pursuit and completion of healthcare programs.
The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) occupation projections, which run through 2026, show that healthcare occupations are some of the fastest growing occupations and account for the most new jobs. An associate degree is the entry level credential needed for a number of healthcare occupations that meet these criteria.
Of the occupations with an associate degree requirement that are projected to have a greater than average numeric or percent change in employment compared to other professions, 10 are in healthcare. These include: cardiovascular technicians; dental hygienists; sonographers; MRI technicians; occupational therapist assistants; physical therapy assistants; radiological technologists; respiratory therapists; veterinary technicians; and clinical laboratory technicians.
These in-demand healthcare occupations are well-paying. In 2017, nine of the 10 paid an annual median wage between $55,000 and $75,000.
Registered nurses (RNs) can be added to this list. Although BLS designates this occupation as requiring a bachelor degree in nursing, about two-thirds (66 percent) of registered nurse RNs in the current workforce hold an associate degree in nursing. More than 400,000 new registered nursing jobs, with annual median earnings of $55,000 to $75,000, are projected for the period between 2016 and 2026, and a significant percentage of them will be filled by community college graduates. The most recent Department of Education (ED) data show that more than three fourths of the associate degrees in nursing were earned in community colleges.
Representing and serving diverse populations
According to ED data, about 85,000 or 71 percent of the more than 120,000 associate degrees in these in-demand fields were conferred by community colleges. Nearly half of the associate degrees in in-demand healthcare fields were awarded by community colleges located in either rural areas (24 percent) or those designated as being in fringe/remote/distant towns (25 percent). This compares to only 21 percent of these degrees being earned across all postsecondary institutions in similar locations (8 and 11 percent, respectively).
In addition, community colleges educate the most minority students in these in-demand healthcare fields. Of all African American students earning an associate degree in one of these fields, 64% attended community colleges. The rates are comparable for other minority groups: 72% of American Indian and Alaska Native students, 71% of Asian students, 61% of Hispanic or Latino students, and a majority (52%) of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander students.
