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Mississippi’s healthcare sector has experienced robust growth even through the nation’s economic downturn at the end of the 2000s. A look at healthcare employment relative to other key industries reveals that while employment fell in manufacturing and construction, healthcare employment continued to post job gains (see chart).  In fact, Mississippi now has more jobs in health and education services than in the manufacturing sector.

The continued growth in the healthcare field presents an opportunity to re-evaluate how we provide training to entry-level healthcare workers and design workplace training. Making these changes can allow entry level workers to advance in their field to positions with higher skills and greater pay. Being deliberate about these adjustments is particularly important as more Mississippi residents access health insurance and demand medical care as healthcare reform is fully implemented.

A recent brief drafted by MEPC in partnership with the Delta Workforce Funding Collaborative, highlights the need to advance more of Mississippi’s low-wage, entry-level healthcare workers to higher levels in their healthcare career path. The piece details ways that employers can encourage training in the workplace and create tiered positions in the healthcare field, so that staff like nursing assistants and practical nurses can build skills and advance through a series of positions with more advanced skill requirements and responsibilities.

Encouraging a healthcare system that focuses on the advancement of workers can fill much needed demands of higher skill healthcare occupations and move families to greater economic security. Currently, individuals working as certified nursing assistants or home health aides make far less than what is required for Self-Sufficiency.

Creating a culture of learning through the workplace and instituting policies that ease the blending of training and work will be critical as Mississippi’s leaders consider Medicaid Expansion and other proposals that give families much needed access to affordable medical care. With adjustments, the state’s employers and training providers can ensure Mississippians access the care they need, and the state’s healthcare workforce is prepared to deliver quality care.