OCTOBER 2022: Workforce Development

CT Black Expo Panel Discussion: Black Career Pipelines in Connecticut

CT Black Expo is back and better than ever! The event took place on October 29th and 30th at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, CT. There were many opportunities for learning activities and engagement with community vendors connecting attendees to great resources. The panel discussion, which was centered on Black Career Pipelines in Connecticut, was particularly awakening.

The discussion focused on why having strong education and career pipeline programs is key to increasing economic mobility for marginalized communities. The esteemed panelists identified healthcare and manufacturing industries as top sectors of opportunities in Connecticut and explored ways to create career pipelines that ensure young people are ready to enter these industries without amassing debt, while also learning how to advance by navigating educational and promotion opportunities. Their strong call to action for healthcare leaders includes owning the responsibility as gatekeepers to ensure younger people from underserved sectors are granted access, become more aware, and are exposed to career possibilities that help them to successfully navigate a career trajectory.

So how is NAHSE CT answering the call to action to cultivate a supportive and collaborative environment for the development and growth of students and young health professionals?

Last week at the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE CT)’s Fall membership meeting, the discussion topic was titled “Climbing The Ladder: How Gen Z and Millenials Are Changing The Way We Work”. Sourcing, recruiting, and retaining diverse talent aims to drive impact in achieving organizational goals for equitable health service delivery. We learned that 47% of Gen-Z employees are people of color. The younger generation value working in socially conscious organizations that create a positive workplace culture for learning and development, and champion the overall well-being of their employees. Organizations without growth pathways for younger workers risk having challenges to retain talent. 24% of millennials and 40% of Gen-Zers are ready to quit in the next 2 years; and about a third overall will quit without any new job prospects.  Therefore, the lack of culturally responsive development opportunities for the younger generation of the healthcare workforce is a problem we must solve for now!

NAHSE CT turns 10 in 2023! Our efforts to work towards the organization’s mission to advance the development of Black healthcare leaders and ensure quality services are rendered to marginalized communities will continue to center on health equity with four pillars to guide programming. Those pillars are Advocacy, Community Service, Education, and Mentorship. While Connecticut has seen a marked improvement in the diverse representation of Black healthcare leaders in the last 10 years, it is important to recognize that at the core of what it will take to achieve our mission is having a strong career pipeline that exposes, connects and mentors the younger generation in roles they can pursue at every stage in their career trajectory. A starting point towards achieving this transformation is NAHSE CT’s Young Professional Committee’s flagship event, “Building & Sustaining Your Career Pathway”--- a virtual panel discussion designed to engage graduate students and early careerists to learn from seasoned professionals across the healthcare ecosystem to inform their own career development plans. As we re-envision how our work will continue to contribute to the intentional development of systems of inclusion and belonging, the critical goal, a measure of success if you will, is the retention of diverse talent successfully recruited as a result of career pipeline programs linked to the core mission of healthcare organizations across the state.

Join or Renew your NAHSE membership today or become a sponsoring organization to support and align with the purposeful work of NAHSE CT and be a part of something great!