A new forecast predicts San Diego County will need more than 200,000 nurses, aides and other allied health workers by 2030. The California Wellness Foundation report says the region doesn't have the capacity to train that many people.
The forecast says as California's population ages, the state will need more health care workers, and the majority of the openings will be in allied health. These jobs include home health aides, physical therapists, and physician's assistants.
San Diego's Mesa College has a brand new building where allied health workers are trained. But Mesa President Rita Cepeda says each program has a waiting list.
"All of them are impacted," Cepeda says. "All of them have a high demand of students who see these as promising careers with immediate employment outcomes."
The forecast says the education system has the capacity to train less than two-thirds of the needed health care jobs.
