By Bryan Mena, CNN
Washington (CNN) — While millions of Americans are struggling to find jobs in a tough labor market, healthcare is emerging as a lifeline for career changers.
After six years as a stay-at-home mother, Cynthia Webster, 50, planned last year to reenter the workforce, bracing for a potentially frustrating job search.
So Webster, who had no healthcare sector experience, signed up for a six-week training course through her local hospital in Palm Bay, Florida, that cost her less than $2,000.
After completing the course she not only found work as a certified nursing assistant right away but has already been approached about becoming a licensed practical nurse, a big step up.
Webster’s experience contrasts sharply with the millions of Americans in other industries who have struggled to find a job over the past year. Even recent college graduates have found themselves submitting hundreds of applications just to land an internship.
A handful of industries — like healthcare — have helped drive the pickup in US job growth in recent months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. America’s aging population and the necessity of healthcare have propelled the industry’s ongoing hiring spree.
And Americans without work still face long spells of unemployment: The number of people unemployed for more than 26 weeks rose in May to 1.83 million, slightly below a four-year high reached in December.
Healthcare recruiters tell CNN they’ve noticed an uptick in people pivoting into the industry to take jobs with a lower barrier to entry, such as nursing assistants and home health aides. Non-healthcare jobs in the industry, such as IT technicians and marketing specialists, are also growing steadily.
“Everybody needs medical, no matter what, even if you’re just going in for an appointment,” Webster said. “There’s always going to be a job in the industry, from housekeeping and cafeteria to being a nurse.”
Moving into the industry
The Place for Children with Autism, an autism therapy center in the Chicago metropolitan area, began offering a revamped training program this year for registered behavior technicians to address persistent vacancies.
The program, which doesn’t require prior healthcare experience, has received more than 10,000 applications so far, with 95% of applicants outside the industry, according to Trevor Freel, the company’s director of talent acquisition.
The free program pays trainees $18 an hour and is a fast-track process to becoming a registered behavior technician within 90 days of starting. And after candidates become certified, they’re automatically bumped up to $19 an hour, with pay increases up to $26 hourly.
“When we offer jobs, I’ve had people cry on the phone with me and say, ‘Thank you so much’,” Freel said. “I mean, you can hear the desperation in their voice.”
Many new healthcare workers from 2020 to 2023 came from a non-healthcare role or after returning to the workforce, according to a study published in Medical Care Research and Review. That trend has persisted in recent months, according to data from jobs site Indeed, specifically for jobs like phlebotomist and medical billing specialist.
“You’re seeing a lot of people from hotel and restaurant management moving over into senior-living management; you’re seeing people from supply chain and logistics moving over into hospital-material management,” said Andy Decker, chief executive at Goodwin Recruiting, a talent acquisition firm that works with hundreds of healthcare organizations.
‘Like a small city’
UCHealth, a health system based in Colorado that employs around 37,000 people, currently has dozens of job openings that have nothing to do with healthcare, ranging from accounts payable analyst to HVAC mechanic.
“Healthcare is kind of like a small city,” said Angela Spinelli, a senior director of talent acquisition at UCHealth. “We have all manner of positions available, from finance to HR, all of the above, so there’s something for everyone.”
The system also offers training for employees who want to move up or even pivot into patient-facing healthcare jobs, such as nursing. UCHealth has eliminated high school and GED requirements for many entry-level roles in order to “get more people in the door,” Spinelli said.
That means someone can get hired by UCHealth as a janitor, for example, then eventually become a nurse after enrolling in the system’s training program — at no cost.
“I really never thought I would be in the medical field in all my life, but here I am doing it, and actually, I love it,” Webster, the newly minted CNA, told CNN.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
The healthcare sector emerges as a lifeline for struggling job seekers News Channel 3-12.
Hence then, the article about the healthcare sector emerges as a lifeline for struggling job seekers was published today ( ) and is available on News channel ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The healthcare sector emerges as a lifeline for struggling job seekers )
Also on site :