Colleges specializing in funeral service education are growing enrollment amid a dearth of workers in the funeral services industry.
The overall percentage increase in enrollment of students in the 58 accredited mortuary programs or institutions in the United States could be even higher this year, said McMurrough, who is also chair of the American Board of Funeral Service Education Committee on Accreditation. "There's an urgent need to replace those who have been in the profession for many years and are retiring," he said. "Over 60% of funeral home owners said they will retire in five years. That's a lot."
And they're younger, too. At Worsham, McMurrough said, the typical student is a 24- to 29-year-old woman, but many are older applicants seeking a new career. Ellen Wynn McBrayer is a funeral director at Jones-Wynn Funeral Home and Crematorium, a third generation family business with two locations in Georgia. Her grandmother, Shirley Drew Jones, was the first woman to be a licensed funeral director in the state."The new and younger people who are coming in are also more open-minded about not doing things the same way, but customizing the service to what families want," said McBrayer.
"So many people experienced death in the last two years in ways that they were not expecting. Families couldn't grieve the way they wanted to," she said. "In some instances, funeral home staff became the last ones to see those who had passed instead of their own families. These moments made an impact on people."'I certainly did not ever plan to graduate from this program but my grandfather first opened my eyes to it," said Walker, 31, who lives in Michigan.
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