Axeing of career pathway program to hit aged care hard

The State Government’s recent decision to cut funding for the “Guaranteeing Futures” (GF) initiative will have a significant impact on aged care, according to the sector’s peak body Aged & Community Services Tasmania (ACST).

ACST CEO Darren Mathewson said the “Aiding the Aged” program, a joint strategy between ACST and the Department of Education as part of the GF initiative, introduced high school students to the aged care and services sector and was critically important to the ongoing attraction and recruitment of young Tasmanians to the industry.

“To see the funding for this program cut is very disappointing,” Mr Mathewson said.

“We’ve worked closely with the Department on this program for a while now and we were seeing some tangible results, with a number of students going on to gain employment within the sector and some of our provider organisations creating school-based apprenticeships to help students make the transition from study to permanent work in the aged care and services sector.

“Programs like this are imperative when looking to expand and up-skill our workforce to meet the challenges that come with a rapidly ageing population, so it’s extremely disappointing to see such a short-sighted decision from the Government.”

Program coordinator Blair Brownless said the Aiding the Aged program had been very well received by students and participating employers.

“We’ve had a fantastic response to this program and the results have been really promising,” he said.

“The program was created after aged care was identified as facing a potential skills shortage.

“We worked with ACST, their provider members and schools to get the program up and running and haven’t looked back since.

“The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive and I’m just really disappointed that kids won’t get the opportunity to participate in this program in the future.”

One student from Montrose Bay High School said the program had opened her eyes to a career in the aged care and services sector.

“I was looking at careers in child care, hospitality and hairdressing – I hadn’t really considered a career in aged care,” she said.

“Through the program I was given the opportunity to do one week’s work experience in a dementia ward at a nursing home.

“In that week, I was very interactive with each resident – having a talk with them and having fun, helping them out with their day-to-day needs such as showering and dressing, making their beds, cleaning-up as well as observing as staff dealt with residents’ medications.

“Having that time and gaining that experience has made me realise that I am passionate about working in aged care.”
Robert Hill Policy, Projects & Communications Officer Aged & Community Services Tasmania