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40
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EDUCATION
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| EMPLOYERS Join the HCA to meet workforce needs and help community members access quality career pathways. CONNECT WITH WIN |
CAREER SEEKERS There are more than one million opportunities for Michiganders to pursue fulfilling careers in hospitals and health systems across the state. FIND A CAREER PATH |
The Health Careers Alliance for Southeast Michigan (HCA) is an employer-led healthcare collaborative with 40 employers of major healthcare systems in Michigan, including regional and multi-state healthcare systems, as well as many urban and rural healthcare employers providing various types and levels of care. This proven model is designed to organize healthcare industry employers to identify strategies to address common talent needs. The collaborative also convenes 21 workforce agencies and state government, as well as 17 institutes of higher education and K-12 school districts.
By working together, our healthcare employers can meet workforce needs more effectively and efficiently while helping community members access higher-quality career pathways.The long-term goal is to support the healthcare industry cluster with state, regional, and local employer-led collaboratives throughout Michigan. The HCA is committed to following the Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) six strategies to address its primary purpose of ensuring robust talent pipelines for critical need jobs. The TPM model organizes employers to identify strategies to address common talent needs. By working together, employers can meet workforce needs more effectively and efficiently.
Mission Statement
The Health Careers Alliance is an employer-led collaborative where healthcare organizations work together to solve shared workforce talent challenges through coordinated regional solutions and strategic partnerships.
Vision Statement
A sustainable and collaborative healthcare workforce ecosystem where employers collectively develop the talent needed to meet the region’s evolving healthcare demands.
Who We Are
The Health Careers Alliance (HCA) brings competing healthcare employers together to address workforce challenges that no single organization can solve independently. By collaborating on shared talent needs, employers collectively develop workforce strategies that strengthen the regional healthcare pipeline and advance incumbent workers.
Education, workforce, and community organizations serve as strategic support partners aligned to employer-defined workforce priorities.
Guiding Principles
Employer-Led Solutions: Healthcare employers drive the priorities, strategies, and workforce solutions of the Alliance.
Collaboration Over Competition: Alliance members work collectively to solve workforce challenges that impact the entire healthcare sector.
Regional Impact: Strategies are developed to strengthen the healthcare workforce ecosystem across the region.
Career Pathway Advancement: The Alliance supports accessible and equitable pathways into and within healthcare careers.
Data-Informed Decision Making: Workforce strategies are guided by labor market data, employer feedback, and measurable outcomes.
Partnership as a Resource: Education, workforce, and community partners provide aligned support services and resources to advance employer workforce goals.
Strategic Priorities
Strategic Goal 1: Advance Incumbent Workers Through Career Pathways
Support the advancement, retention, and long-term growth of the current healthcare workforce through employer-driven registered apprenticeship and career pathway strategies. Objectives include:
- Expand registered apprenticeship programs as a primary strategy for incumbent worker advancement.
- Create clear career pathways that support upward mobility into high-demand healthcare occupations.
- Collaborate across employers to address shared retention and advancement challenges.
- Increase access to industry-recognized credentials, certifications, and skill development opportunities.
- Partner with education and workforce organizations to provide flexible training and supportive services aligned with employer needs.
Strategic Goal 2: Build a Sustainable Healthcare Talent Pipeline
Develop coordinated regional strategies that build awareness, prepare future talent, and connect individuals across all stages of the healthcare career pathway continuum.
Adult Learners: Entry & Career Transition: Support unemployed, underemployed, and career-changing adults in accessing healthcare careers and training opportunities. Objectives include:
- Expand access to accelerated healthcare training and credentialing programs.
- Provide career navigation, supportive services, and workforce readiness support.
- Align adult training pathways with employer hiring demands and workforce shortages.
- Increase direct connections between adult learners and participating healthcare employers.
Middle & High School Workforce Preparation: Develop direct pathways from secondary education into healthcare employment and postsecondary training. Objectives include:
- Strengthen partnerships between healthcare employers, school districts, CTE programs, and postsecondary institutions.
- Expand opportunities for students to earn healthcare credentials and certifications prior to graduation.
- Increase access to work-based learning, internships, clinical experiences, and employer engagement opportunities.
- Support transitions from high school directly into healthcare employment, registered apprenticeship, or continued education.
- Align CTE programming with regional employer workforce needs and high-demand healthcare occupations.
Elementary Career Awareness: Build early awareness and interest in healthcare careers through age-appropriate exposure and engagement activities. Objectives include:
- Introduce students to the variety of careers available within the healthcare industry.
- Partner with schools and community organizations to provide career awareness activities and experiences.
- Inspire future healthcare professionals through early exposure to healthcare careers and role models.
Employer Value Proposition
- Collaboratively solve workforce shortages and staffing challenges.
- Develop sustainable talent pipelines for high-demand occupations.
- Expand registered apprenticeship and workforce advancement strategies.
- Share best practices and innovative workforce solutions.
- Influence regional workforce development priorities and investments.
- Reduce duplication of effort through coordinated regional action.
The Health Careers Alliance operates as an employer-led collaborative in which healthcare organizations identify shared workforce priorities and collectively develop regional solutions. Education, workforce, and community organizations serve in advisory and supportive roles aligned to employer-defined workforce needs.
Strategic Focus Areas
- Registered Apprenticeship Expansion
- Incumbent Worker Advancement
- High School-to-Employment Pathways
- Career Awareness & Exploration
- Employer Collaboration
- Workforce Data & Planning
- Regional Talent Pipeline Development
The Health Careers Alliance represents a proven model of regional workforce collaboration, one in which healthcare employers work together to solve shared talent challenges, strengthen career pathways, and build a sustainable healthcare workforce for the future.
OUTCOMES OF A DEMAND-DRIVEN EMPLOYER-LED COLLABORATIVE
- Engaged in facilitating the State of Michigan's first pre-licensure RN United States Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program
- Development of new education and training programs.
- Review and update of current curriculum and programs for specific occupations.
- Prioritization of incumbent worker training in targeted areas.
- Increase in internships, co-ops, and apprenticeship opportunities.
- Coordinated and consistent opportunities to expose youth to in-demand careers.
- A comprehensive marketing plan to promote career opportunities within an industry.
The State encourages sector strategies to develop demand-driven, employer-led collaboratives. These collaboratives, which can be statewide, regional, or local, identify galvanizing issues that collectively impact employers, employees and job seekers. Employers then create customized, targeted solutions that leverage the power of collective problem-solving to meet employers’ workforce needs faster and more effectively than individual employers can alone.
The HCA is an employer-led collaborative co-facilitated with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN).
Document Center
The Document Center provides easy access to public documents. Click on one of the categories below to see related documents or use the search function.
Documents sorted by _RECORDID in Descending Order within category
HCA Presentations12 documents
- April 2026 HCA Meeting PPT FINAL.pdf
- HCA February 2026 PowerPoint.pdf
- HCA Meeting October 2025 FINAL.pdf
- HCA August Meeting 2025 FINAL.pdf
- June 2025 HCA Meeting Final.pdf
- April 2025 HCA Meeting FINAL.pdf
- February 2025 HCA Meeting FINAL.pdf
- HCA April Meeting 2024 FINAL.pdf
- HCA June Meeting 2024 FINAL.pdf
- HCA Feb2023 PPT FINAL.pdf
- HCA December Meeting 2023 FINAL.pdf
- HCA April Meeting 2022 FINAL.pdf
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