In the past few months, we have had the great fortune of having several large employers visit our program and interview our students. Many of those interviews resulted in job offers. Indeed, lately the job market is looking very promising for BMETs. All of the employers have concerns about the number of students coming into the program as they see their hiring needs increasing. In fact, most of them see a huge hole coming in about 5-10 years because of the number of people in the field retiring. Students really like hearing this, of course, because it means opportunities for them are increasing.
When I first became a BMET, the average age was reported to be about 33. That number has steadily increased. In fact, most of the surveys I have read place the average age to be about 50. One employees recently told us that almost half of his employers will be retiring in the next five years. That is an alarming number. We are getting old, folks! And to top it off, many of students coming into our program are older. The average age of our incoming students is between 28-30 and increasing steadily.
We are having a harder time recruiting younger people out of high school. One reason is people are still unfamiliar with our career field and what a BMET does. Our lab assistant has been on a recruiting mission for the last year. She is a graduate of our program and wants to spread the word about us and about BMETs. And … she is doing a terrific job. She has probably visited 40 high schools in the past six months or so and many of the teachers and counselors are asking her to come back. I’m anxious to see how it pays off next fall.
One of the things I’m doing is researching the attitudes and career “wants” of people in that age group (16-19). They want a career where they can do meaningful work and where they make a difference more than anything. Healthcare Technology Management would seem to be a perfect fit! Many mention flexible work arrangements. I’m not so sure every employer can provide that but the work itself makes a huge difference in health care. While money isn’t their primary concern, they do want opportunity for advancement and training. Check and check.
I always ask the younger students how they heard about the program. Almost all of them know someone who works as a BMET or Field Service Technician. Very few of them hear about it through advertisement (ours or otherwise) or teachers/counselors. This is troubling. This a group of students who have unlimited access to technology and yet they don’t really use it to view recruiting videos (or so they tell me), especially since the school is making a more concentrated effort to reach them through technology.
Personally, I applaud the latest career videos on BMETs. But I wonder if a different approach is necessary. Many of the videos show people in the laboratory/classroom setting or talking about the career field and its benefits. This is wonderful and it would definitely attract me toward the career field if I were not already in it.
Perhaps a different type of career video would be more effective. I wonder if it would be possible to strap a GoPro (maybe a chest mount?) to several outstanding BMETs for a day (several types of employers and environments, of course) and record “a day in the life.” The highlights could be edited into several short career videos that could be uploaded to YouTube and other places. Without advertising any particular institution or employer, maybe this would be effective. I’m just thinking out loud. If you have other ideas, I would love to hear them. We have to find ways to reach this generation.
