Health Care
High Technology
An industry affected by both a lack of workforce and the exposure of its frontline workers to COVID-19 , health care in West Virginia faces an uphill battle — but not without solutions .
“ When people think about hospitals , they tend to only think about doctors and nurses , but there is every single profession imaginable available in hospitals ,” says Jim Kaufman , president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association . “ There are hundreds of positions right here in West Virginia .”
According to Kauffman , another challenge in the health care industry is the growing demand for a work and life balance .
Many Mountain State hospitals have been developing entrepreneurial programs that allow their employees to work part time and go to school part time , allowing for a more flexible approach to certification for previously unqualified candidates . Kaufman also wants to see health care careers discussed more in-depth at the middle and high school levels .
“ We want to get middle and high school students talking about opportunities in health care and making sure they are academically ready to move into college or other programs that are available ,” he says . “ Not only is the population aging in West Virginia — so there is going to be a greater demand for health care services — but as the population ages , we are going to see more retirements , which is going to create vacancies .”
The technology sector in North Central West Virginia has seen steady growth over the last few decades , but with growth comes new challenges . In West Virginia ’ s technology sector , the biggest need is for knowledge workers , according to Jim Estep , president and CEO of the High Technology Foundation .
“ This has presented a real challenge in West Virginia because the state ’ s workforce demographic has been 50th in educational attainment for decades ,” he says . “ There were very few knowledge workers in the state that could laterally shift into the expanding technology sector . For this reason , we haven ’ t been able to realize the full potential of the growth .”
Estep encourages West Virginia students to take full advantage of the classes and programs offered under the umbrella of science , technology , engineering and mathematics , or STEM . He also recommends everyone looking to enter the technology sector earn their basic certification classes in coding .
“ I don ’ t expect everyone can become a software developer , but information technology is so pervasive in every domain it is necessary to have that familiarity regardless of your occupation ,” says Estep . “ I would also encourage everyone to take a basic course in data science or data analytics . Every aspect of society is evolving to have a data-centric emphasis .”
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE