Demand for public well being graduates stays excessive by means of the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has altered the labor marketplace for hundreds of thousands of individuals, together with public well being graduates, but an evaluation of job postings for Grasp’s stage public well being graduates confirmed that job postings remained on the identical ranges as earlier than the pandemic, in line with a brand new examine at Columbia College Mailman Faculty of Public Well being. The findings are printed within the Worldwide Journal of Well being Planning and Administration.

“As a result of essential function of illness prevention in responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, assessing the general public well being workforce stays critically vital,” mentioned Heather Krasna, MS, EdM, assistant dean of profession providers at Columbia Mailman Faculty, and lead creator of the examine. “Thankfully, the job marketplace for grasp’s stage public well being graduates has not been as negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as in contrast with the broader job market.” Alternatively, total job postings nationally dropped by as much as 30 p.c within the U. S. because of the pandemic.

An evaluation of greater than 38,533 job postings for grasp’s stage public well being grads discovered that there have been 92 totally different occupations which sought to rent public well being graduates or that existed throughout the public well being workforce.

To pinpoint altering employer calls for related to COVID-19, the researchers analyzed 24,516 postings from March 2019 to October 2019—pre-COVID—and in contrast them with 24,845 postings from March 2020 to October 2020 within the COVID period. The examine utilized a job postings database, maintained by Burning Glass (BG) Applied sciences.

“By an evaluation of job postings in two timeframes, earlier than COVID-19 and through the COVID-19 pandemic, we will assess whether or not demand for public well being graduates has modified through the COVID-19 pandemic,” mentioned Krasna. “Whereas there is no such thing as a doubt that the labor marketplace for hundreds of thousands of individuals modified with COVID-19, together with public well being graduates, it’s notable that there have been a number of hundred extra job postings for public well being graduates within the COVID-era, in comparison with pre-COVID jobs.”

Pharmaceutical firms and insurance coverage companies elevated their numbers of job postings for public well being graduates, whereas nonprofits and academia have seen job postings drop throughout COVID-19. Because the pandemic, as much as 28 p.c of job postings for public well being graduates had been in fields outdoors of the job definitions which have historically been listed as a part of the general public well being workforce.

In line with Krasna and colleagues, with this newest evaluation, workforce planners and educational establishments may help establish potential workforce gaps, be certain that curriculum addresses the present wants of organizations hiring public well being graduates, and supply insights to academia for curricula innovation.

The info additionally present a shortfall of positions for roughly 19 p.c of Grasp’s stage public well being graduates getting into into authorities after commencement. This mismatch—during which not sufficient public well being graduates are getting into authorities to fill crucial public well being workforce shortages—might have critical repercussions for the power of the governmental public well being businesses to answer public well being crises together with COVID-19.

The roles with the quickest will increase in hiring through the COVID-19 period give attention to statistics and epidemiology, program administration, computer-related positions, group well being employees, and people managing scientific trials or analysis packages. An elevated want for Chief Executives highlights the necessity for management coaching to fulfill the COVID-19 pandemic’s administration challenges or substitute retiring public well being executives. Universities making ready public well being graduates can make the most of this evaluation to discern real-time job market necessities of employers, famous Krasna.