When we hear of talent shortages in healthcare, people often think of clinical roles, such as physicians and nurses. But this trend has evolved over the years.
Today’s tight labor market is also driving demand in scientific and digital roles. And healthcare employers are anxious as the industry is slated to grow by 5.4% annually. In fact, according to Randstad Sourceright’s 2019 Talent Trends survey, 85% of human capital and C-suite leaders in the life sciences and healthcare sector say talent scarcity is one of their greatest concerns.
Longer life expectancy, ceaseless medical innovation, consumer-driven health trends, and a workforce that is aging out all add complexity to the challenge. “A great feature of our modern society is that the healthcare industry has helped to raise life expectancy right at a time when the baby boomer generation is approaching retirement age," explains Tania De Decker, senior vice president, Global Client Solutions — Healthcare at Randstad.
Clinical hiring is still a critical need to backfill the roles vacated by retirees, as is an ongoing demand for IT professionals who can work with new mobile health technologies and wearable devices. The real growth and gaps however, are seen in emerging positions such as clinical study managers, research associates, regulatory managers, bioinformatics specialists, geneticists, health data analysts and others. Chief digital officers are another hot commodity for healthcare companies.
"What we’re seeing is that companies are ramping up their workforces by leveraging more flexible talent," De Decker says. "They are experimenting with more flexible schedules for medical professionals, researchers, IT, and support staff, hiring them on a part-time or freelance basis, and collaborating with more external partners, like contractors, to address the increasing demand."
Read more in MultiBriefs, then learn how you can create an agile workforce in a time of rapid change. Download the Randstad Sourceright 2019 Talent Trends life sciences and healthcare report now.
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