X-ray Vision for Workforce Development
In November 1895, a German physicist noticed something unexpected in his laboratory. Invisible rays from an experimental tube could pass through soft tissue while leaving images of bones and metal behind.
He knew immediately that the discovery was significant. What he could not have expected was how quickly the rest of the world would act on it.
The physicist was Wilhelm Röntgen, and he submitted his first paper on X-rays in late December. Only two months later, physicians were using them to examine broken bones. Doctors also began using X-rays to locate bullets and other objects inside the body.
This happened at a time when news traveled slowly, but laboratories around the world already had much of the equipment they needed. Once they understood what Röntgen had found, they could begin putting this new method to use.
I have been thinking about that rapid adoption since our enrollment data started coming in on WGU’s partnership with CVS Health.
Seeing the Need
CVS Health came to WGU with a clear challenge: it needed an affordable pathway that could help pharmacy technicians and other frontline employees pursue the education required to become pharmacists.
Together, we developed the Associate of Science in Health Science, Pre-Pharmacy program. It is online, aligned with common PharmD prerequisites and structured so CVS Health colleagues can continue working while earning their degrees.
The immediate need was for pharmacists, but the long-term goal was always bigger. CVS also needs accountants, store managers, technology professionals, cybersecurity specialists and operations leaders. From the beginning, we hoped this partnership would eventually help CVS Health develop its entire workforce.
The Speed of Light
Once we began to drill down into the enrollment data, we found that 30% of CVS Health employees enrolling at WGU selected programs outside pre-pharmacy, including business, education and technology. That result did not take the partnership in a different direction; rather it moved the partnership toward its long-term goal faster than we anticipated.
Like the laboratories that already had much of the equipment needed to produce X-rays, the essential pieces were already in place. CVS Health had employees who wanted to advance. It had workforce needs across the company. WGU had degree programs that could prepare people for those roles.
This partnership connected them.
The people who applied to WGU matter as much as what they chose to study. Among applicants who reported household income, roughly two-thirds earn less than $45,000 a year. These are working adults who may have had the talent and determination to advance but lacked an affordable path to the credential standing between them and their next role.
When that path appeared, they moved quickly.
What This Means for Employers
Employer education benefits are often built around one pathway to one job. The CVS Health results suggest employers, like their team members, should plan for something bigger.
A pharmacy technician who earns a business degree does not necessarily leave the healthcare workforce. That employee might become a store manager, district trainer or operations leader. Someone who studies technology could help maintain the systems that keep a national healthcare company running.
Internal mobility helps keep employees from leaving.
I would tell any health system CEO the same thing: talent and determination are not restricted by ZIP code. Before writing another sign-on bonus or relocation package, look at the people already working in your organization. Ask what they want to become. Help fund the pathway and let them keep working while they complete it.
What We Measure Next
Degree applications can provide an early indication, but completion of a degree program and advancement are the outcomes that ultimately matter.
For the CVS Health partnership, we will track completion by degree type, time to credential and whether graduates advance within the company. Those results will show us whether the pathways are meeting the needs employees saw in them.
Röntgen knew X-rays were valuable. What surprised the scientific community was how quickly people found ways to use them.
We are seeing the same thing through the CVS Health partnership. Employees see value in pursuing education and career skills, and WGU and CVS are supporting them in the journey.
