Workforce Initiatives

Healthcare

WIB Sector Strategies

The healthcare industry includes businesses, public agencies, and non-profit organizations dedicated to improving the health of individuals and the public. It includes physicians’ offices, hospital systems, diagnostic laboratories, dentist offices, nursing homes and residential care facilities, mental health facilities, public health departments (local, state and federal) and clinics.

The Central Valley leads the state in respiratory illness, teenage pregnancy, and diabetes and has the lowest percentages of nurses as well as other healthcare specialists compared to other areas of the state. Healthcare is an industry with high projected growth nationwide, including in Tulare County, due to the aging population and high projected retirement rates from the industry in the coming years.

County Employment: Significant Growth Projections

According to EMSI, Tulare County has an estimated 10,626 people currently employed in health practitioner, technician and health support occupations. There is a projected 24% growth rate for new and replacement jobs through 2016 for these occupations. There is also concern that currently the population is underserved by the current capacity of the healthcare facilities in the area and there is concern with the difficulty to recruit enough workers in the more highly trained occupations in the industry.

The Tulare WIB has decided to focus on this industry not only because of the importance of the industry to the physical health of the county’s population, but also the importance of the industry to the health of the economy. Most of the occupations in the industry pay family sustaining wages and some occupations are among the most highly paid in the County. The industry provides high quality jobs to those that are properly trained.

WIB Healthcare Committee: Goals

• Conduct focus groups with hospitals, community health centers and private sector healthcare executives to validate sector challenges & workforce needs
• Conduct interviews with healthcare associations to inventory key priorities and available resources
• Develop a pipeline with K-12 schools for professional level occupations in the Health Care Field (Doctors, NPs, PAs)
• Organize on large health care occupations career fair for High School students current in the 4 Health Care Academy programs in Tulare County. The career fair will allow exploration and provide guidance for the students to achieve their goal of entering a career in healthcare industry.

WIB Health Committee: Accomplishments to Date

• Community resource mapping of existing healthcare programs in Tulare County
• Identification of skills needed, degree reuqirments, available certifications
• Identifcation of community organizations for healthcare professionals

WIB Healthcare Committee: Members

Resources

Healthcare Fact Sheet

Industry News

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