The Laboratory Workforce Challenge

Nationwide, laboratory science professionals and private and public health laboratories are acutely concerned about the laboratory staffing shortage. In May 2025, at the third annual Workforce Action Alliance Summit, in response to the imperative for collaboration, executives representing diverse organizations from across the country convened in Chandler, AZ, to identify the next three priorities for action. The 3 priorities are:

#1 Strengthen the data to understand the laboratory workforce (continuation from 2024)

#2 Next generation of laboratory scientists (continuation of the “Career Pathways” workgroup from 2024)

#3 Identify the future skills and rewards required for laboratory scientists (continuation from 2024); working with ASCP’s “Leading Laboratory” program

During the WAA Summit, the group outlined action plans for each priority and several Executives volunteered post-Summit to refine those action plans with practical steps, a timeline and metrics of success.  In May 2026, the Executive-level group will reconvene to evaluate its achievements and to establish a plan of action for the following year.

The 2025 Summit Proceedings Document is available here. The 2024 Summit Proceedings Document is available here. The 2023 Summit Proceedings Document is available here.

If you are interested in participating in the Workforce Action Alliance, please email: waa@cola.org.

The 4th WAA Summit will occur adjacent to COLA’s 2026 Laboratory Enrichment Forum in Nashville, TN. To learn more about the Laboratory Enrichment Forum you can visit the 2026 Laboratory Enrichment Forum.

Organizations wishing to make a charitable donation in support of the 2026 Summit can email waa@cola.org to find out how to contribute.