If you’ve experienced difficulty finding rehabilitation professionals to fill your open job opportunities, you’re not alone. According to the American Staffing Association’s skills gap index released in June 2015, occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech language pathologists fall within the top 10 hardest-to-fill positions for employers and staffing firms. In fact, occupational therapists ranked as the number-one hardest position to fill in the U.S. on the ASA’s list of 181 occupations.
About the skills gap index
The ASA’s report provides a reference for employers and staffing firms of the level of difficulty that can be expected when attempting to find new talent for certain occupations. The skills gap index is based on a scale of one to 100, and ranks the difficulty to fill a specific position based on the total amount of people working within this occupation, the supply of available candidates, and the demand for these candidates.
What’s causing the staffing deficit?
A 2012 study by Georgetown University estimated that by the year 2020, the United States will need 5.6 million healthcare workers. As the Affordable Care Act mandates that more Americans are required to purchase health insurance, this is adding to the growing need for healthcare workers across all disciplines. Also adding to the deficit of healthcare workers is our growing number of baby boomers in need of increased medical care and rehabilitation. For the next 20 years, about 10,000 people a day will be celebrating their 65th birthday. These needs directly affect physical and occupational therapists, as well as speech language pathologists, who are important members in the full spectrum of healthcare services.
Assistance to find qualified healthcare talent
If you’re in search of physical and occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists to fill your open job opportunities, this article is old news. You’ve probably experienced first hand the difficulty in getting applicants to apply to your job posting. PT Solutions can help. We’re a staffing firm run by therapists, and we’re extensively familiar with the ins-and-outs of the industry. We’ll work with you to reach out to area therapists and find the talent you need. To learn more about how PT Solutions can help you locate hard-to-find therapy staff, please contact us today.
