• Default layout
    • A
    • A
    • Font size:

    • +
    • -
Jump to main content

VDC

VET DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Organisational Chart
    • Board & CEO
  • Professional Development
    • Professional Development
    • Conference
    • Webinar Recordings
  • Room Hire
  • News
    • VDC News
    • News Archive
  • Funded Opportunities
  • Layout:

    Default layout

    High contrast

  • Font size:

  • Legibility:

    Reset

    Low Brightness

    • Best Legibility
      • Aa
      • Aa
      • Aa
  • Layout width:

    • Liquid
    • Full

News Archive


Font size: + -

Rethinking the aged care workforce

Wed 27 February | News Archive,VDC News

Aged care is in the spotlight, with a Royal Commission just starting.

But aged care has been in the spotlight for some time in relation to abuse and the quality of patient care. The aged care workforce has been a focus too.

What’s coming?

The Royal Commission began its hearings in Adelaide in February 2019. Its terms of reference are on the Commission’s website and are quite broad.  They are concerned with the quality of services and how these might best be delivered in accessible, affordable, sustainable and more innovative ways. One of the other issues examined will also be any required “investment in the aged care workforce.” The Commission’s hearings will be held around Australia from March to December 2019 and the process will also include taking submissions as well as producing publications . No publications yet, but maybe keep your eyes on that via the Commission website?

Where have we come from?

The Productivity Commission produced a report in 2011, entitled “Caring for older Australians”. The site contains the inquiry report site – which includes an overview report and access to the many submissions. The Productivity Commission also proposed a number of reforms. It will be interesting to look at what was put forward then, and compare those with what the Royal Commission comes up with!

In relation to the formal care workforce, they proposed “improving employment conditions and training”. They also noted that the quality of aged care training delivered by registered training organisations was variable, and recommended an independent review of the delivery and outcomes of aged care related VET courses by registered training organisations to ensure that “appropriate minimum standards are applied in the delivery of accredited aged care courses and that students demonstrate the appropriate competencies.”

The inquiry gave rise to ASQA’s strategic review of training for aged and community care in 2013. What ASQA found was that training programs were largely too short and included insufficient time in a workplace for satisfactory skills development; RTOs delivering high-quality training programs faced unfair competition from those RTOs offering cheap and unrealistically short training programs and finally “most RTOs offering aged and community care training struggle with appropriate assessment.” (As an aside, the same sorts of things were found in the audit of the Certificate IV TAE, too!!)

More recent activity on the aged care workforce

In late 2017 an independent aged care workforce strategy taskforce was established, chaired by Professor John Pollaers,  in order to “develop a strategy for growing and sustaining the workforce providing aged care services and support for older people, to meet their care needs in a variety of settings across Australia.” The taskforce undertook a consultation and engagement process and has developed a range of resources that can be accessed here. These include an inquiry report published in mid 2018, and an ‘at a glance’ proposing fourteen strategic actions.

Let’s look at a few of the strategic actions put forward by that taskforce. Amongst other things, they have proposed is a voluntary industry code of conduct and reframing the qualification and skills framework to address current and future competencies and skills requirements:

“based on two interrelated building blocks – job architecture, including job design, job roles, progression and related competencies; and modernising and realigning vocational training [and so it is also] linked to higher education, along with additional support for on-the-job and non-formal learning.”

They also propose defining new career pathways “linked with reframed qualifications and skills, recognising competencies, creating new and moving to longer career paths and an industry standard for worker and volunteer accreditation” as well as “implementing new attraction and retention strategies for the workforce” and improving the training and recruitment practices for the Australian Government aged care workforce. They also recommend focusing “on the current funding and related innovation challenges for the industry”, including staff remuneration.

Finally, they proposed an Aged Services Industry Council made up of industry chief executive officers (CEOs) that would establish the voluntary code of practice and implement a transformation program.

So, if nothing else, the new Royal Commission already has plenty of grist for its mill!

UPCOMING VDC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

d0ccc77f35
  • 17 Mar

    professional learning events

    VET Chat: Industry Engagement - The Essentials

    Wed, 17 Mar 10:00AM–10:30AM
    $15 (inc GST)
    Participants will leave this VET Chat with a better understanding of how to keep records and maintain compliance, how much industry engagement is enough, as well as a wealth of ideas for industry engagement activities.
    Find out more...
    Register
  • 16 Mar

    assessment essentials

    Virtual Workshop: Quality Assuring Competency-Based Assessment Tools

    Tue, 16 Mar 12:00PM–1:30PM
    $80 (inc GST)
    Led by VET assessment and audit expert, Andrea Bateman, this 1.5-hour virtual workshop will give participants an understanding of the processes for reviewing assessment tools prior to use and how to evaluate assessment tools against the context of assessment requirements.
    Find out more...
    Register
  • 17 Mar

    teaching & learning strategies

    Webinar: 21st Century Skills - Currency for Success

    Wed, 17 Mar 12:30PM–1:30PM
    $55 (inc GST)
    Join Karen Dymke for this interactive webinar to learn strategies to build learner confidence and how to help students master the competencies needed in the workplace.
    Find out more...
    Register

VIEW LATEST NEWS

Archive

  • 2021
    • March (4)
    • February (10)
  • 2020
    • November (11)
    • October (12)
    • September (10)
    • August (11)
    • July (14)
    • June (10)
    • May (11)
    • April (10)
    • March (12)
    • February (11)
    • January (6)
  • 2019
    • November (12)
    • October (9)
    • September (10)
    • August (9)
    • July (11)
    • June (5)
    • May (14)
    • April (4)
    • March (10)
    • February (8)
    • January (4)
  • 2018
    • December (4)
    • November (8)
    • October (9)
    • September (8)
    • August (12)
    • July (6)
    • June (11)
    • May (11)
    • April (10)
    • March (4)
    • February (10)
    • January (5)
  • 2017
    • November (10)
    • October (9)
    • September (5)
    • August (12)
    • July (4)
    • June (9)
    • May (9)
    • April (5)
    • March (11)
    • February (10)
  • 2016
    • December (5)
    • November (8)
    • October (8)
    • September (10)
    • August (14)
    • July (5)
    • June (1)
  • 2015
    • December (1)
  • 2014
    • December (1)
  • 2013
    • December (1)
  • FAQs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Site Map

VDC

Level 8 379 Collins St, Melbourne
T: 1300 917 150
E: [email protected]

 

© VET Development Centre 2020