Having trouble finding and hiring caregivers with skills that match your clients’ needs?
A new report from Burning Glass, “Different Skills, Different Gaps: Measuring and Closing the Skills Gap” may shed new light on the growing “caregiver shortage.”
While the report explores a wide range of occupations in the overall job market, it specifically mentions healthcare support professionals (such as home care aides).
Home Care employers unanimously report that finding qualified caregivers is a huge challenge. The conventional wisdom is that there just aren’t enough people to fill the surplus of positions. But a simple supply vs. demand scenario may not tell the whole story.
Burning Glass found that not only are there not enough people willing to fill the positions—but of the available applicants there is a gap in specific skills employers need the most.
What’s the solution?
The report recommends employers “play an expanded leadership role in education and workforce training.”
In other words, you have to TRAIN the workers you WANT.
Do you need Caregivers with advanced skills in caring for clients with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? How about Aides who know how to prevent re-admissions to the hospital? Maybe you’re looking for a team that has knowledge of caring for clients with behavioral health conditions.
Whatever specialty skill you need, chances are a person with that exact skill will not walk through your door today.
Why not train the team you need?
Join Us!
Find out how your organization can improve recruitment, retention, client care, and client satisfaction through advanced training for “Caregiver Specialists.”
We’ll give you the tools to TRAIN the team you NEED!
Skills? Just a part of the picture. The biggest challenge is finding people (in our situation as a non-profit) who CARE and WANT to work. Granted we are challenged by the intensity of the work many take for granted…that of physical labor in addition to the emotional/mental challenges in addition to low wages (but fairly decent benefits), but coming off a 4 month search, I can tell you that the quality of people is lower than I can recall. For instance I got some sincere, personalized responses one week. FOUR interviews were set up. THREE were no-shows/no calls. One called. Prior to that was a non-responsive person who had originally written a well-composed letter of interest. One person who interviewed came in, put her personal items on my desk as if it were her own, and spent more attention looking at her phone than interviewing. Then called to follow up and see where things stood! I have a sense that numerous people are being required to go through a training program in order to maintain the benefits they may be receiving…but these are NOT, in general, people who truly want to work, and they will work the system to their advantage. The problem IMO is that this is a profession that must be respected, with a better than living wage, and with any luck a data bank for employers to really be able to check on someone instead of people only confirming dates of employment. And I say that knowing as well that we must generate governmental programs that will support not only the training, but help subsidize those with lower incomes who need at home care. I think we are going to increasingly see senior adults who want to age in place with support, and those same adults…younger seniors…caregiving for their parents. Particularly a burden for those who are single adults and need to continue working to ensure their own years ahead.
Hey Robin,
I totally hear you. It’s frustrating. I guess, on the bright side, it sounds like you didn’t want those caregivers on your team anyway!
You are correct. There are many factors that make caregiver recruitment difficult, including lack of respect for the profession and unreasonable pay.
I wish there was a magic solution.
I did find an article from our friends at myCNAjobs that may help. You can find it HERE.