NHA News Center

New Framework Helps Employers and Policymakers Identify Credentials That Deliver Workforce Value

LEAWOOD, KS – The National Healthcareer Association (NHA), an Ascend Learning brand, has recently released Credentials That Work: Delivering Quality and Real Economic Opportunity in the Healthcare Workforce. The paper outlines NHA’s practical framework for distinguishing credentials that deliver real workforce value from those that do not, helping policymakers, employers, and educators evaluate investments in healthcare workforce development.

NHA will release a new version of the Certified EKG Technician (CET) study materials in the Fall of 2027 and exam coming in Winter 2027/2028. We will provide more specific timeframes closer to launch. See below for more details. 

We are excited to share an important enhancement to NHA's provisional certification program that will provide greater flexibility for your students and better align certification opportunities with high school health science program timelines.

We're proud to announce that NHA's article, "Certifications That Count: What Students Should Know Before Entering Allied Health," was recently featured in the 2026 Summer edition of the Career Education Review!  

Nationally recognized, short-term credential programs offer a viable solution to the nationwide shortage of allied-healthcare professionals. 

Annual outlook highlights growing responsibilities, skills gaps, and the critical role of certification and career pathways in allied health for sustaining care delivery

The National Healthcareer Association (NHA), an Ascend Learning brand and the largest allied health certification agency in the United States, has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in response to its Proposed Rules to Implement Working Families Tax Cuts Act’s Workforce Pell Grants. NHA underscored the need for clear, efficient processes to expand access to high-quality, accredited short-term healthcare training programs that prepare students for the workforce and enable them to be job-ready immediately upon program completion.

Congressional Budget Process

The federal budget process directly shapes which resources are available to support students, classrooms, and schools. Federal funding streams, including Workforce Pell Grants and Title VII grant programs, are all determined through annual budget decisions made by Congress. Funding increases can expand services and access, while cuts can force programs to make tough trade-offs or lead to program elimination altogether.

Our nation is facing critical shortages in the healthcare workforce. While you, your teams, and your students are doing their part to fill those gaps, policymakers must do their part in addressing this crisis as well.