Bridging Middle-Skills Gaps in the Healthcare Workforce

Healthcare providers will always have patients, and those patients will always need skilled, hands-on support. That’s why the industry rarely pauses hiring, even as unemployment reaches historic levels. Unlike other sectors, growth in the healthcare workforce is driven by structural demand instead of short-term momentum.  

However, despite consistent demand, the healthcare sector is still struggling to find qualified talent to fill open roles, as barriers involving access, affordability and high turnover for low-paying jobs stand in the way. At the same time, there is a growing pool of aspiring professionals ready to step in, with a quarter of the more than one million learners Cengage Work serves focused on health and wellness, according to the Cengage Work Learner Outcomes Report. 

Let’s dive deeper into the state of the healthcare labor market and how the sector’s search for skilled professionals is evolving. 

Breaking down the healthcare career landscape 

As other sectors slow hiring, healthcare continues gaining momentum. In January, healthcare and social assistance made up 95% of the 130,000 jobs the U.S. added, and over the past three years, employment in the sector grew by 12.5%, while growth in every other job category has been less than 2%. Moving forward, the healthcare sector is expected to generate up to two million job openings. We’ve seen this echoed within Cengage Work, our allied health credentialling programs grew 40% over the past year and 80% over the past two years.  

Several factors are increasing the demand for skilled healthcare workers and powering the industry’s consistent growth. On the medical side, there’s an uptick in chronic disease and aging populations, driving an influx of patients. There are also financial factors, like expanding employer-sponsored and public insurance coverage, that allow more Americans to afford and access medical treatment.  

But even with healthcare’s strong job growth, the labor market has hit a practical ceiling on experienced workers. Although many employers are raising wages and offering signing bonuses, these moves only redistribute the same limited talent pool instead of expanding supply or improving retention.  

The primary challenge is access to training. Many learning programs are long, expensive and have limited capacity, and traditional pathways simply do not produce enough new entrants. That gap is especially evident in allied health. Within Ready to Hire, which works with employers to identify and bridge skills gaps, we’re seeing more demand for middle-skill roles like lab technicians, surgical technologists and phlebotomy technicians. These roles are among the hardest for employers to fill, as about 8,700 openings for surgical assistants and technologists are projected each year over the next decade, largely because of the need to replace workers.  

Addressing the middle skill credential gap 

At a time when many Americans are questioning the ROI of a four-year degree, middle-skill healthcare roles provide an alternative route to meaningful work and economic mobility. But job seekers need training that prioritizes hands-on, role-specific experience before they can be ready to step into these roles. 

Certification-based, short-form learning programs make it easier to enter the field by reducing the cost and time associated with traditional education pathways. Some employers will even sponsor training opportunities, and flexible, online formats allow working adults to upskill without stepping away from existing responsibilities. At Cengage we support this through Ready to Hire, our train-to-hire business, and ed2go, our online skilling and credentialing business, offerings, which can prepare learners for certifications in a matter of months. These programs are driving real outcomes, with health and fitness learners earning an average of $35,360 at completion, with wages increasing 18% after just two years. 

It’s not just the money driving job seekers; it’s their passion or desire for a change. For instance, when one woman working in the fast-food industry felt burned out and underappreciated, she enrolled in our Certified Phlebotomy Technician course to improve her work life. After completing the 200-hour comprehensive program, she passed her certification and later secured a more lucrative position in a phlebotomy lab. 

For many learners, healthcare means more than a stable job opportunity. It is a practical and equitable pathway to the middle class, offering stable wages, strong demand and opportunities for advancement within a sector that continues to grow regardless of broader economic circumstances.  

To give these job seekers the best chance of entering the industry, we must focus on creating new entrants instead of recycling existing ones. Through middle skill credentials, we have the power to open healthcare job pathways and ensure the healthcare workforce is made up of skilled, qualified and dedicated professionals.