Madison, Wis.-based UW Health has launched WorkForward, a nonprofit organization focused on strengthening the healthcare workforce through career pathways and apprenticeship development programs.
WorkForward is designed to serve as an employer-based intermediary that aligns healthcare employers, educators, governing bodies and other organizations around workforce development goals, according to a UW Health May 14 news release.
The organization will support apprenticeship programs, youth career pathways and experiential learning initiatives tailored to federal, state and local regulations. It also plans to help guide workforce policy discussions by bringing operational insights from health systems into state and federal conversations.
The launch comes as the Health Resources and Services Administration projects shortages by 2038 of 141,160 physicians, 108,960 registered nurses, 60,610 physical therapists, 30,400 pharmacists and 12,770 respiratory therapists, according to the release.
UW Health said WorkForward builds on its Allied Health Education and Career Pathways department, launched in 2015 with 15 staff members and no apprentices. The health system said it has since trained more than 1,000 apprentices across 17 programs, including 12 registered apprenticeship programs and more than 250 youth apprentices.
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