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In this occasional series, we examine the scope of critical worker shortages in 2023, from doctors and police officers to math teachers and social workers.
Some worker shortages hurt more than others, and state leaders are rushing to try to make it easier to fill vacancies from paramedics to special ed teachers.
Child psychiatrists oversee the care and medication of some of the most complex mental health cases. And yet Michigan has only about half the specialists it needs amid a surge in anxiety and depression among young people.
Michigan schools do not have enough special education teachers, leaving many students without the services they need. Higher pay may help, as would lowering barriers for college students to teach in the speciality.
The state is pumping millions of dollars into the education budget to help school districts fill bus driver vacancies. Even so, pay remains a hurdle, so some districts offer gas cards, rideshares and public transport options.
Michigan is pulling out the stops to get more people in college. But a shortage of high school counselors and advisors trained to explain the application, financial aid and college-going process poses a challenge.
Munson Healthcare, northern Michigan’s largest employer, will be limiting services at rural hospitals while boosting them in Traverse City. Officials cite staff shortages and rising patient demand for virtual options.
In Roscommon County, fewer than 4 in 10 adults are in the workforce. The northern Michigan vacation haven is symptomatic of a statewide worker shortage crisis that has some looking for creative solutions.
Short supply of health care “assistants” and “techs” bottlenecks health care, even in places with plenty of doctors. Here’s what Michigan is trying to do about it.
A critical shortage of Michigan workers is forcing health care employers to rethink recruitment and retention, moving beyond paychecks to consider the benefits different workers value most.
It’s a high-stress job with middling pay. With other jobs aplenty, ambulance services are struggling to find, train and hire paramedics and EMTs, with the gap expected to grow this decade.
Retirements are outpacing recruitment, with roughly 4,500 fewer Michigan officers today than in 2001 despite efforts to pay recruits more. That makes the job more stressful and, leaders say, the streets more dangerous.
A new Michigan Healthcare Workforce Index examined pay, expected growth, turnover, and necessary training to rank 36 health care job roles from the ‘healthiest’ — nurse practitioner — to the ‘unhealthiest’ — dental assistant.
Roughly 750 prospective and current teachers are expected to participate in the Talent Together program as the state attempts to reinvigorate the talent pool for public school teaching positions.
A lack of medical and dental assistants in Michigan is limiting patient access to care. A $7.6 million training program offers a vision for how to help solve the state’s staffing woes.
What does it take to keep a Michigan teacher in the classroom? In a time of teacher shortages, Teach for America Detroit is partnering with six districts to pay teachers up to $35K in bonuses for training.