A lot of professions are struggling with people joining their ranks.  And, from my point of view it seems to be that society is  lacking staffing in the categories that are highly “hands on” in human care. . . .which would include funeral directors and embalmers.

 

There are probably many reasons for this which, I’m guessing, certainly includes a group who have fatigued of those human care positions which were certainly overworked during the recent pandemic.

 

There is no doubt that “hands on” human care can also be very rewarding — in a feel good sort of way. . . . not always in a financial sort of way.  However, as many know in the death care world, the “feels good” attribute doesn’t always pay the bills.

 

That makes it very important that when we put resources into the recruitment and training of those who may be interested in our profession we make sure that those resources are used in the best way possible.  Potential funeral directors have to know that they, too, will probably be investing not only tuition expenses but time in a learning experience that they maybe don’t know much about when they think about the profession.  And, it is important that we make that time as meaningful as possible for them as we are learning about them and they are learning about us.

 

The death care profession needs to make sure that these students can enter the training and learning phase with as much pre-knowledge as possible.  To that end, the state of Kansas recently passed a bill, that you can read about here, that allows for a 6-month apprenticeship before a student even enrolls in a mortuary program.  They can later complete their final 6-months of their year long total apprenticeship after they complete their schooling.

 

According to Pam Scott, Executive Director of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association, “Kansas, like other states, is experiencing a shortage of licensed embalmers.  Providing a split apprenticeship would be beneficial for those interested in entering the profession. It could shorten the time it takes for an applicant to become licensed and weed out applicants that later determine an embalming profession is not for them.”

 

The bill passed the Kansas House of Representatives 121-0 and the Kansas Senate 38-0 finding its way to the governor’s desk for signature.

 

Related —  Central Co-op to roll out apprenticeships in its funeral business.  Co-op News (United Kingdom)

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• The faces behind Muncie funeral homes.  The Daily – Ball State University (IN)
• County seeks cash for land to expand Arlington National Cemetery.  Military Times
• Direct Cremation:  All things you should know?  Deadline.
• A greener way to die:  How human compsoting is growing as an alternative to burial or cremation.  The Indian Express (India)

 

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