DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Guild, the leader in opportunity creation for America’s workforce, announced new partnerships with 12 leading healthcare organizations including MultiCare, OSF Healthcare, OU Health, Penn State Health, UW Health and Wellstar Health System to offer education, skilling, and career services tuition-free to employees to fill critical workforce gaps in areas like allied health and nursing.
These new partnerships mark a more than 30% increase in the number of healthcare employees that have access to Guild through their employer at a time when 85% of healthcare facilities face shortages of allied health professionals. Experts anticipate that more than 3.2 million additional healthcare workers in allied health and supporting roles (medical assistants, home health aides, nursing assistants, etc.) will be needed in the next five years to meet demand.
Guild’s continued expansion into the industry is positively impacting workforce pipelines at healthcare organizations across the country with employees enrolling in programs that align with the largest labor gaps (nursing, medical assistants, phlebotomy technicians). Guild programs are unlocking career and economic mobility for healthcare workers. At one healthcare provider, 8 out of 10 Medical Assistant Certificate graduates moved into a certified Medical Assistant role within 6 months of graduation. The promotion from previous roles (receptionist, patient services representative) to certified medical assistant resulted in a potential BLS median salary growth of 28%.
“The viability of our healthcare system relies on a skilled and sustainable workforce. Yet healthcare organizations across the country are simultaneously facing burnout, high turnover, fewer enrollments in nursing schools, and an increased demand for healthcare services,” said Hanna Patterson, Senior Vice President of Healthcare & Applied Learning at Guild. “The stakes are high: for the sustainability of the healthcare system, for employees, and for the patients they serve. Guild is helping these organizations tick through each of these problems one by one. With increased opportunity for mobility, healthcare organizations are more prepared to meet this pivotal moment and employees are developing skills they can lean on for the next decade and beyond."
“When we announced our partnership with Guild, we were hopeful the accessibility would provide our Mission Partners holistic support for their personal and professional development,” said Shelley Parn, Chief Human Resource Officer at OSF HealthCare. “We were pleased to see a 42% increase in enrollment in nursing programs for the fall 2023 semester, illustrating the impact of removing the financial burdens of education on individual career journeys.”
Additions to Guild’s Learning Marketplace to Meet Growing Shortages in Allied Health
To support workforce transformation in the healthcare industry, Guild’s Learning Marketplace now offers more than 400 healthcare-focused programs, a 45% increase YOY, ranging from entry-level Medical Assistant certification programs to Healthcare Administration and Doctor of Nursing degrees. In response to this growing market need, Guild has expanded the existing allied health offerings in the Learning Marketplace to include programs from leading learning providers such as ed2go, MedCerts, and Pima Medical Institute.
Allied health programs provide critical entry points for healthcare careers across multiple pathways and create a necessary gateway into other in-demand clinical roles. These programs are generally self-paced, are often shorter in length, and require little to no prerequisites, making them ideally suited for working adult learners looking to make an impact in the medical field.
Rural Health Challenges
Another pressing challenge in the healthcare space that Guild is partnering with healthcare organizations to address are care gaps in rural communities. More than 46 million Americans, or 15 percent of the U.S. population, live in rural areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Of the more than 7,200 federally designated health professional shortage areas, 3 out of 5 are in rural regions. Solving the workforce crisis in these areas is a matter of life and death. With gaps in access to healthcare, rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than their urban counterparts.
“Guild’s solution allows healthcare leaders to cultivate talent from within, creating a pipeline to fill in-demand roles and a pathway into clinical careers regardless of previous experience,” said Stephen Klasko, Executive-in-Residence at General Catalyst, former President and CEO at Jefferson Health. “The removal of real and perceived barriers to entry is particularly important as we grapple with a growing rural health crisis in this country. These communities deserve top-tier medical care regardless of their address. As rural systems partner with Guild to foster new skills across their workforce, it allows those who already live in the area to become a part of the solution and to support their neighbors in new and fulfilling ways.”
About Guild
The Guild Career Opportunity Platform™ enables forward-thinking employers to invest in their employees, unlocking life-changing opportunities for personal and professional growth through education and learning programs, career development, and one-on-one coaching. Guild partners with the nation’s largest employers — including Walmart, Chipotle, Discover, Hilton, Target, The Walt Disney Company, and healthcare systems like Providence Health and UCHealth — to create cultures of opportunity that help them attract and retain top talent, and build the workforce of the future. Guild offers a marketplace of curated education and learning programs designed for the success of working adults. Layered onto that is support, guidance, and resources at every step to help ensure the new skills employees are building translate into career pathways that are in demand at their companies — all without paying for tuition or career services on their own. For more information, visit https://www.guild.com.
