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Connor is the Marketing Coordinator for Skills Strategies International. He has been with the company for the last five years, starting in a junior administration role and working his way up through the company. Connor has recently finished his Bachelor in Commerce and is looking forward to applying his knowledge of Marketing and Public Relations.
Following the recent Jobs and Skills summit, a newfound emphasis is being placed on the need for qualified workers in the aged care industry. The Aged care industry was one of the hardest hit sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic due to it being an industry that has been largely propped up by migrant workers who could not enter Australia due to border restrictions.
Over the weekend major overhauls to the Vocational Education sector were announced that aim to make the vocational sector in Australia easier to navigate, and more efficient. This will largely be done through the removal of significant duplicate units and courses, something which has plagued vocational education for some time.
There are currently 5,000 vocational education and training or VET units which have more than 70% overlap with at least one other unit. By combining many of these courses and units the simplified vocational education system would become easier to understand for students while also reducing the work required for vocational educators.
More than 800 extra nurses and aged care professionals are needed across WA to ensure that all aged care homes have around-the-clock access. This labour shortage has resorted to many aged care facilities looking abroad as the federal government adjusts its migration rules to allow for more foreign aged care workers to enter Australia. The Aged care workforce industry council has already begun to seek agreements with foreign aged care organisations in the Philippines and India which would bring their workers into Australia to address our skill shortages. Many believe this would cause Australians to lose out on potential employment within the Aged Care industry.
The aged care staffing shortage originated during the COVID-19 Pandemic with 65,000 workers leaving the sector per year. This was then further exasperated by new requirements that state a registered nurse will be needed in each aged care facility 24/7 by next July along with 200 care minutes per resident by October 2023. Nationally the annual skill shortage is set to reach 35,000 workers with 8000 needed just to meet the basic staffing requirements needed to keep facilities open.
While the new requirements largely focus on registered nurse staffing the additional hours required from other staff is also a large requirement for Aged Care facilities to meet. Currently, one of the ways the WA staff government are looking to address these requirements is through heavily funding the CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support and the creation of the free Work in Community Care Skill Set. Both of these courses give learners the skills required to start their careers in the aged care industry.
Currently Skills Strategies International is running their aged care qualifications out of their Mandurah Training Facility located on Mandurah Terrace. These courses start around every three months with the next course beginning in October. Since we know different people learn in different ways learners can either complete their course face to face at the Mandurah training centre or through on-the-job learning at one of our partnered aged care facilities.
For any aged care inquiries click here
At different times in our journeys as professionals, we all experience the feeling that we need to update our skills and make a career change. However, this can become difficult for older Australians as they feel they are 'in too deep'.
The Skills Checkpoint Program is a program run by the department of education that helps older Australians to access career support and guidance as they re-assess what they wish to do for the rest of their time as professionals. This guidance can either be to help with further skills training, support to grow within your current role or guidance on how to transfer to a completely new career.
Deciding on a career can be difficult and takes research, goal setting and knowledge of what you want to do. Guiding someone through their career plan can be even more difficult. There are many different resources we can use to help with this process. Today I'd like to use this article to highlight three that the team at Skills Strategies International have found the most useful
Currently, all WA businesses suffer from an extreme skill shortage across various industries. The Hospitality industry has been hit the hardest. Statewide we currently have 15,000 vacancies, with this number only growing as staff must isolate due to COVID-19. As a result, many restaurants are operating half-staff, and some businesses even have to shut down due to being understaffed.
