By Geralyn Magan
The decision to create the Center for Workforce Solutions stems from conversations with LeadingAge members across the country who are facing enormous workforce challenges.
The new LeadingAge Center for Workforce Solutions is officially open for business. The center focuses on disseminating workforce-related resources for the aging services field.
Visit the center’s new website to review promising workforce practices, find ideas for establishing key partnerships, try out tools to calculate turnover, read member testimonials, listen to podcasts, catch up on policy news, and much more.
The decision to create the center stems from conversations with LeadingAge members across the country who are facing enormous workforce challenges, according to a statement from LeadingAge. Results from a recent workforce survey, conducted by the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, reinforced this decision. Among the pressing concerns cited by respondents were:
- An insufficient number of qualified applicants for vacancies (83.7%)
- Competitive wages (65%)
- Staff turnover (63%)
“LeadingAge has made it a strategic priority to address these challenges,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “We’re excited to find solutions for the aging services field and provide ways for the workforce to grow and succeed.”
The goal of the Center for Workforce Solutions is to reposition the field of aging services to attract and support a quality workforce at all levels. The center plans to collaborate with traditional partners, such as community colleges, as well as non-traditional partners, including businesses, to find practical solutions to workforce challenges.
“We need to develop messaging that portrays the aging services workforce as a valuable and critical profession,” says Susan Hildebrandt, center director and vice president of workforce initiatives. “We need to demystify aging and aging services and convince prospective workers that these really are the jobs of the future.”