The Missouri Career Center is rolling out the ladder to workers looking for success in the healthcare industry - Southwest Missouri's third-largest employment segment. Healthcare employment grew 22% from 1992 to 2002. The demand for Registered Nurses alone is expected to skyrocket 26% between 1998 and 2008, beating the state average of 16% and the national average of 22%. The healthcare sector was the fourth-largest producer of new business startups in 2003 and is touted by career planners as the top occupational segment requiring career education or associates-degree level training.

Career Pathways is a joint effort of local healthcare employers along with local partners of the Missouri Career Center. Pathways is a career ladder concept that prepares individuals for entry-level employment into jobs with strong wage potential and high hiring demand. The career ladder doesn't stop at just training alone. It also provides supportive services, child care or transportation for example, to remove barriers toward successful completion. Peer study groups and advanced vocational counseling also improve the odds of success for the job seeker. Once the first step of the ladder is complete, a job seeker may wish to advance further into higher wage positions with additional training and services as needed.

The organizers of the Healthcare Career Pathways are working closely with employers from throughout Southwest Missouri that are affiliated with the Four-State Health Professions Consortium. The pathways career ladder considers important issues such as the key entry points for healthcare careers, opportunities for advancement, what skills and qualities are needed at each level, and the demand for employment in specific healthcare jobs.

Missouri Career Center partners joining the Four-State Health Professions Consortium in the Healthcare Career Pathways initiative include Lakes Country Resource Center, the Missouri Division of Workforce Development, Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri, and educators such as Crowder College, Franklin Technology Center, and Missouri Southern State University.

For more information on the Healthcare Career Pathways, call Jamie Gillmore at 417-629-3000.