RTOs set new agenda to help solve the aged care puzzle
By Andrew Stuart
Aged care in Australia is in a precarious position. The country's over-65 population will more than double between 2014 and 2044 – according to research from McCrindle – leading to a strain on elderly care services.
The study, named 'The Aged Care Puzzle', unearthed more perspective-gaining stats, such as:
Half of the current workers in aged care will be of retirement age in 15 years
Around 18,600 people are predicted to reach 100 years of age in the year 2044 – only 40 did in 1952.
Almost 780,000 new aged workers will need to enter the workforce in the next 10 years to match demand (that's 650 a month)
In a step towards evening the odds and preparing current and future workforces, registered training organisations (RTOs) will ramp up their qualification structures to test students more thoroughly.
In an Australian first, an updated training package will demand a minimum work placement spell of 120 hours for both Certificate III and Certificate IV students. Those in aged care training jobs are likely to see their daily work schedules change in line.
The Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC) will lead the initiative for change, as was explained in its recent Training Packages Review.
The organisation's Training Packages Manager, Dorothy Rao, told Australian Ageing Agenda that the aim is to remove any ambiguity around RTO's responsibilities in the realms of workplace training and assessment.
"The assessment requirement is also prescriptive in terms of the range and frequency of what has to be demonstrated in the workplace," she added.
Next month is likely to yield more changes as the CS&HISC perform their June 2015 review, aiming to further address the persistent issues felt in the aged care sector. With a final review billed for December, even experienced trainers will likely find substantial changes over the coming months and years.
