Our Research and Lead Workforce Capability Director, Professor Sue Gordon spoke today at the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra. She spoke about the increased demand for the services of aged care workers due to the increased need for care, as the number of older Australians grows.
The complexity of care for older people has increased. More people in our community are needing safe, high-quality care for subacute rather than chronic needs, she said.
“But our aged care workers are stressed and fatigued, and we are facing a labour shortage in the aged care sector, having lost 30% of its workforce in 20/21. Another 40% have indicated they will leave in the next three years.
“Besides the traditional training provided for nursing and allied health, we need micro credentialled programs aimed at personal care workers that offer the skills they need to deliver quality care to the aged care sector.
“By offering pathways for people to get the foundation skills they need across the health care sector, in aged care, primary care and disability, we can then provide flexibility across the care roles, as well we can then build specialist skills training and better career opportunities.
“Our aged care workers need to become a valued and respected workforce to attract more people to the sector. Consideration of parity of pay, leveraging technology for service delivery and using our human resources in the most efficient and effective manner will enable a better future for our aged care workers.”
