The Healthcare Industry and Opportunities for Continuing and Professional Education
According to the U.S. Census, there are approximately 326 million people in the United States. In 2016, there were approximately 74 million Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. At their peak, there was as many as 79 million in the U.S. To put things in perspective, Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1994, number approximately 71 million. While life expectancy is now 78.7 years of age on average, the impact on our healthcare systems are expected to be immense. Currently, and while this number will accelerate over time, approximately 3.5 million Baby Boomers are retiring annually. The UPCEA Center for Research and Strategy estimates further that 33 million Boomers will be retired and 36 million will still be in the workforce by 2020. The remaining two million, unfortunately, will pass away. In the short-run, a million boomers will die each year, and this number will increase as boomers get older. In fact, we estimate that approximately 5 million Boomers will be employed in 2030 and 49 million will be retired.
People are born and people will die, but healthcare will continue to grow over the next two decades and be resilient to major economic downturns. Healthcare will change to accommodate our aging population, as well as meet the needs of aging Gen X’ers and Millennials. New technologies, payment systems, emerging and changing demographics, politics, changing policies, and many other factors will continue to fuel employment in the healthcare industry. Even wearable technologies and the vast amounts of data being stored will also fuel and change employment in the healthcare sector.
For traditional higher education, degrees will need to evolve as demands change. For professional and continuing education, the evolution of new degrees will certainly be an opportunity, but the creation of “bridge” credentials also can be promising as professionals will require new learning to become more secure in their jobs. The data that follows shows where the growth will be in the next decade as a percentage and by volume of new jobs.
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