Training places for community aged care workers from culturally diverse and indigenous backgrounds

The Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, has announced that the first 500 of 2,000 training places for community aged care workers from culturally diverse or indigenous backgrounds will soon be available.

The training places will include the nationally recognised Certificate III in Home and Community Care, the Certificate IV in Service Coordination, and access to aged care language and literacy training.

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The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, Aged Care Packages in the Community 2006-07, found that 21% of community care package recipients were born overseas and spoke a language other than English.

“Training will allow staff to provide care to help people from non English speaking backgrounds and older  indigenous people to remain independent in their own homes,” Mrs Elliot said.

The program will target community aged care workers in remote and regional areas across Australia.

Many community care workers in remote and regional areas needed to be multi skilled, as they were often involved in the delivery of different types of care packages to people of diverse backgrounds.

“The Mapping of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Home and Community (HACC) Workforce report found that 72% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services providing community aged care, also delivered other community ‘packaged care’ services.

“There is a real need to bolster the skills of our community aged care workforce to meet the demands of Australia’s ageing multicultural society,” Mrs Elliot said.

She said the Rudd Government is also implementing measures designed to increase staff levels across the broader aged care sector, to provide additional training opportunities for existing staff and to create better career paths for all care workers.

This includes the allocation of over 3,000 training places to community based aged care workers at a cost of $8.6 million.

For further information visit:

 www.commcarelink.health.gov.au