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Home > Ministers > The Hon Justine Elliot MP, Minister for Ageing > Media Hub > Australian Government announces 4,600 extra training places for Aged Care workers: Preparing for our Ageing

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PDF printable version of Australian Government announces 4,600 extra training places for Aged Care workers: Preparing for our Ageing population (PDF 21 KB)

11 October 2009

Up to 4,600 new training places over four years in aged and community care will be created under a $19 million training plan – as part of the Rudd Government’s response to the challenges of Australia’s ageing population.

Federal Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot today announced details of the training package for people wanting a career in aged care.

A total of 2,200 community training places and up to 2,400 residential aged care training places will be made available through the Community Aged Care Workforce Development and the Better Skills for Better Care programs, respectively.

Minister Elliot said: “Australians now have the longest life expectancy in the English speaking world – and we are responding to the challenges of our nation’s ageing population.

“We are continuing to invest in training so that the aged and community care workforce is equipped with the right skills to provide high quality care to people in their own homes and in aged care homes.

This package brings the Rudd Government's investment in training for aged care workers to more than $146 million, providing training for nearly 26,000 aged care workers.

“We need a well trained workforce to help provide quality aged and community care in Australia.

“This is a practical and commonsense measure – it is about helping people gain additional work skills and build a long-term career in residential and community aged care,” Minister Elliot said.

The training would be nationally recognised and include places in:

• Certificate III and IV in Home and Community Care;
• Certificate III and IV in Aged Care;
• Certificate IV in Leisure and Health;
• Certificate IV in Frontline Management; and
• Diploma of Community Services Coordination

This joint round will allow the vocational and educational training sector to better coordinate and plan its training delivery and will provide more certainty to providers and staff.

Further information is available from the Department’s website: www.health.gov.au/tenders

Community Aged Care Workforce Development Program
The Community Aged Care Workforce Development program strengthens the skills and knowledge of aged care workers who provide home-based care to frail older Australians with complex care needs, including the provision of care in their own ethnic and Indigenous communities.

The program has provided over 8,000 training places to assist aged care workers to attain accredited aged care related certificate courses.

Up to 2,000 of these training places will be allocated to workers from culturally diverse and indigenous backgrounds.

About the Better Skills for Better Care Program
A total of $77million will be invested through the Better Skills for Better Care Program to assist personal care workers over the next four years to upgrade or obtain full certificate qualifications.

To date the Rudd Government has invested $59.7 million to provide training to over 10,000 aged care workers under this program.

The Better Skills for Better Care Program assists approved providers of residential aged care services to meet their training requirements by funding training for personal care workers involved in direct care of residents in residential aged care facilities.

For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on (02) 6277 7280