The Senior Housing Advancement and Pathways Event (SHAPE), co-hosted by the Virginia Assisted Living Association (VALA) and Argentum took place on July 17, 2025, and marked a groundbreaking workforce summit designed to address the urgent staffing shortages plaguing Virginia’s assisted living communities. SHAPE assembled key stakeholders including senior living employers, community colleges, and workforce development agencies, fostering innovative solutions to bridge critical employment gaps and create new career pathways across the Commonwealth.
Virginia’s assisted living industry faces unique workforce challenges, requiring around-the-clock staffing for roles in caregiving, food service, housekeeping, and custodial work. Despite a large pool of Virginians seeking stable and meaningful employment, employers continue to struggle to fill both full-time and part-time positions. One persistent barrier is the “benefits cliff”: entry-level wages can inadvertently disqualify workers from essential benefits like SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid, underscoring the need for tailored policy and employer support.
SHAPE also highlighted the promise of leveraging veterans and military families as a workforce pipeline. Veterans bring invaluable leadership and adaptability, making them ideal candidates for executive director and administrator roles. Initiatives such as Argentum’s partnership with DB Elite, aimed at connecting transitioning military service members to senior living careers, were spotlighted, as were programs like MyCAA and SkillBridge for engaging military spouses and dependents.
Central to workforce development are Virginia’s Community Colleges, whose accelerated Fast Forward Programs train nurse aides and medical assistants. SHAPE examined opportunities for employers to support their staff’s participation in these programs through incentives like on-the-job training reimbursement, tax credits, and employee retention agreements.
A notable feature of the event was the integration of Argentum’s Direct Workforce Services (DWS). DWS offers a suite of support directly to job seekers and employers, including recruitment assistance, candidate screening, and streamlined onboarding processes tailored to the unique needs of senior living communities. By enhancing connections between qualified candidates and open positions, DWS plays a pivotal role in accelerating workforce placement and supporting long-term retention in the industry.
Through collaborative discussions and the introduction of strategic workforce initiatives—such as Argentum’s DWS—SHAPE is helping to pave the way for a stronger, more resilient senior living workforce in Virginia.
Continuing the Conversation at the Argentum Senior Living Workforce Symposium
This year’s Argentum Senior Living Workforce Symposium presents an opportunity for you to engage directly with labor departments, workforce boards, Job Corps, and community colleges to forge partnerships and connect with the talent your community needs. We’ve just added newly added sessions and speakers to the lineup—bringing you even more actionable insights on recruitment, retention, leadership development, and more.
The deadline to secure the early bird rate to attend the Argentum Senior Living Workforce Symposium is fast approaching—August 1! Join us August 18 in Greensboro, NC for the only event dedicated to exploring the critical workforce issues shaping the future of senior living.
