Senior living communities must recruit 1.2 million new employees by 2025 and must create working environments and career paths that are attractive to these workers, according to a new report from Argentum, formerly the Asissted Living Federation of America.

The report, titled “Getting to 2025: A Roadmap for the Senior Living Industry,” follows a six-month “listening tour” wherein Argentum President and CEO James Balda, Board Chairwoman Brenda J. Bacon, president and CEO of Brandywine Senior Living, and others from the organization visited senior living communities around the country to discuss major issues facing the industry.

Workforce development, quality care, operational excellence and consumer choice were the four themes identified by Argentum when it unveiled its Senior Living 2025 campaign at its 2015 annual meeting, with workforce development emerging as the top concern for members. “It was what people wanted to talk about and what people actually couldn’t stop talking about,” Balda previously told McKnight’s Senior Living. The new document also provides information related to memory care.

Specific to workforce development, the “Roadmap” states that the industry must prevent the passage of policy and legislative reforms that would negatively affect providers; expand job creation and invest in training and development programs; research what drives employment and engagement; partner with academic institutions to address the growing need for senior living professionals; develop and track baseline metrics associated with employee engagement, perceptions and satisfaction; and develop professional credentials to elevate the status of the profession in the eye of current and prospective employees.

Argentum has formed a Senior Living Certification Commission to fulfill the last goal.