FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                             DATE 23/07/09

 

 

“As Chair of the Senate Committee that recently conducted an extensive inquiry into aged care in Australia I am pleased to announce more than $1.4 million to train and up-skill 248 local aged and community care staff.” Senator Helen Polley said today.

 

The announcement is part of a $43.8 million education and training package designed to provide training to more than 8,000 aged and community care personal care workers.

 “This is a practical and commonsense measure – it is about helping people gain additional work skills and build a long-term career in aged care.” Senator Polley outlined.

“Improving the skills of staff will help to provide better care for older residents in our local community.

The Rudd Government is committed to ensuring older Australians receive high quality of care, whether they chose to remain at home or enter residential care, and a skilled aged care workforce is an important component in providing that care.

This education and training package brings the Rudd Government's investment in training to more than $127 million for more than 21,300 aged care workers.

 

“We are investing in training so that the aged and community care workforce is equipped with the right skills to appropriately care for people in their own homes and in aged care homes.” Senator Polley continued.

 

The programs in this education and training package are:

·         Community Aged Care Workforce Development - which will equip more than 3,000 personal care workers with the skills and knowledge for home-based care of frail aged people with complex care needs; and

·         Better Skills for Better Care - which will support more than 5,000 personal care workers in aged care homes in gaining certificate-level qualifications - such as enrolled nursing.

 

Providing training for aged care workers is part of the Rudd Government’s continuing investment in the aged care sector, building an aged care system for the 21^st century that meets the challenges of our ageing population.