In less than three years, the healthcare industry is poised to face a labor shortage of 100,000 critical care workers, plus an additional 78,000 nurse assistants. Multiple factors are contributing to this phenomenon, including employee burnout and an aging population.

But there’s another issue reducing the future healthcare talent pool: the decline in college enrollment. Fewer people are pursuing the degrees and specialized certifications required to keep hospitals and other medical centers fully staffed.

Healthcare organizations need to circumvent these issues as soon as possible by prioritizing worker upskilling and reskiling today. The ones that do it well will create internal pipelines to attract and retain talent in healthcare, while filling those high-demand roles.

Find out what’s really going on with worker attitudes around higher education and how your organization can get ahead of the competition with a strategic workforce development plan.

Why College Enrollment for Healthcare is Down

Enrollment in college is dropping across the board, and healthcare programs are no exception. Nursing schools, for instance, have regularly experienced enrollment declines in bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD programs.

These shifts can largely be attributed to three primary factors:

• Birth rates are lower: Birth rate declines began in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and haven’t recovered since then. Those 2008 babies are now reaching college age, but with a much lower population than previous cohorts.
• International enrollment is uncertain: This demographic has typically represented about 6% of the total higher education population. But there has been a significant amount of political uncertainty surrounding international student enrollment in U.S. universities, which could impact the years ahead. International applicants for the 2025-2026 school year dropped 1%.
• General skepticism about the value of higher education: A four-year degree used to be considered the golden standard for a promising career, but American adults today aren’t sold on the idea. 40% say a college degree isn’t important in getting a well-paying job these days. Gen Z in particular has second thoughts about the ROI of a college education; one in four regret pursuing their four-year degree.

Both the healthcare industry and the broader economy are facing challenges when it comes to having a selective talent pool to hire from. But understanding the reasons why can help you craft the right solutions for your workforce.

3 Ways to Solve the Talent Shortage in Healthcare Using Your Education Benefits Programs

Rethinking your organization’s benefits can be a major differentiato for applicants and current workers who have plenty of employment offers to choose from. These three education benefit trends for healthcare workers can address the labor shortage and attract workers with the right credentials.

Design Clear Career Pathways Within Your Organization

In order to have the most effective hiring and retention results, start with a clear plan that addresses the needs of your organization. This involves developing career pathways that map out the exact education and training needed for employees to qualify for a specific role.

For instance, you could map out how medical assistants can upgrade their skills to become physician assistants. Alternatively, you could also focus on lower-skilled roles that are still in demand.

Your career pathways could also include both degree and non-degree programs to maximize accessibility and ROI. An EdAssist client in the healthcare industry developed a career pathway to create a nine-month non-degree certificate program that trains food and environmental services employees into sterile techs. They are successfully creating an internal talent pool for a specific role shortage with high retention rates.

Remove Financial Barriers With Debt-Free Education Benefits

One of the biggest challenges surrounding continuing education is the cost. That’s why education benefits that provide financial assistance are vital for healthcare organizations, especially when encouraging employees to get additional training in the industry.

Your employees are your biggest opportunity to build an internal talent pipeline for critical roles. The challenge is that many have lower income levels, which means fewer financial resources to invest in their own education and development. That’s why debt-free or no-cost education benefits are so prevalent in the healthcare industry.

For instance, healthcare support roles like nursing assistants and orderlies earn a median hourly wage of just $17.87. That’s an annual income of less than $35,000. In a multi-industry employee study completed by EdAssist, results showed that 53% of employees said that incurring student loan debt has prevented them from pursuing additional education.

If a better opportunity comes along with financial assistance available, your employees are likely to take it. In fact 70% of frontline workers are actively pursuing career advancement opportunities – but they’re going outside their employers if necessary.

That means there’s a higher risk of turnover within organizations that neglect career development for their workforce. And it could result in even more labor shortage challenges. Instead, consider investing in education benefits programs that create meaningful impact in your employees’ lives, not to mention the long-term health of your organization.

Increase Interest With Earn-While-You-Learn Education Benefits Programs

Another growing benefits trend in the healthcare industry is earn-while-you-learn (EWYL) programs. In this model, the organization ensures employees earn a salary while enrolled in specialized licensure programs.

The earn-while-you-learn approach is becoming increasingly popular because it completely minimizes the employee’s financial burden. Plus, you can tailor the opportunities based on your organization’s specific hiring needs in the years to come.

As an example, an EdAssist client implemented an earn-while-you-learn program for future lab techs. Not only does this leading healthcare organization subsidize the certification costs, they also pay participants’ full salaries and provide the clinical hours required by the program.

In some cases, employees may be able to continue working in their original roles. But many healthcare organizations are providing full salaries and benefits while completing the training program. Common high-priority roles for this type of program may include certified medical assistants, patient care technicians, and pharmacy techs. Longer programs can be made available to employees with a strong track record within the organization.

Attract and Retain Skilled Talent with Strategic Education Benefits

The healthcare industry is at a critical crossroads. With college enrollment declining and a massive labor shortage looming, organizations must act now to attract and retain skilled talent. By investing in education benefits that remove financial barriers, create clear career pathways, and offer earn-while-you-learn opportunities, healthcare employers can attract and retain the skilled professionals they need—without relying solely on traditional talent pipelines.

An education benefits program can make a world of difference in both attracting and retaining talent in the healthcare field. But it’s important to make sure you’re offering the right programs to solve the right organizational challenges - both in terms of budget and long-term success.

Want to stay ahead of the curve? Explore tailor-made workforce education programs with EdAssist, the industry leader in education benefits with specialized expertise in healthcare industry needs.