As Massachusetts hospitals and nursing homes scramble to fill jobs, early college programs could be key, new report finds

First Appeared in Contrarian Boston 5.30.23

By David Mancuso

“Nowhere is the workforce crisis more intense than in health care.”

That’s the word from MassINC and the Massachusetts Business Association for Education, or MBAE.

The two groups just released a timely new report on the massive worker shortage facing one of our state’s key sectors.

Fortunately, the report goes on to chart out a path to resolve the crisis by doubling down on early college programs for students interested in health care careers.

According to the report, Massachusetts will need upwards of 6,000 new nurses each year through the end of the decade.

Today, 60 of the the state’s 437 public high schools in Massachusetts offer state designated early college programs. And the health care pathway is not only the most widely available, it is also the most popular career focus for early college program participants. 

Yet, there are some big challenges, with the early college health care programs “underdeveloped,” not just in terms of academic offerings, but also in key areas like “counseling, mentoring, and career development,” the report notes.

Ramping up these early college programs could pay dividends, with the potential for providing as many as 1,200 new workers a year for the state’s health care industry, a spokesperson for MBAE told Contrarian Boston.

Students of color currently make-up nearly two-thirds of enrollment in the state’s early college programs, suggesting this effort may not only provide a solution the supply shortage, but it could also ultimately lead to a more diverse health care work force.

Yet despite this encouraging news, serious issues remain.

As it stands now, only 13 percent of the Commonwealth’s high schools offer early college programs.

That still relatively low number remains a significant barrier if early college programs are ever going to be a meaningful solution to the workforce development issues the state has faced for a decade or more. 

Gov. Healey has been a strong supporter of early college, and the Legislature has signaled its support by doubling funding for early college in each of the last two state budgets, while proposing significant increased investments in 2024. That’s a trend that needs to continue.

There is still a long way to go, but the MassINC/MBAE report suggests there’s hope. At least in health care.