workforce
Help wanted
Report predicts ‘worrying’
aged care worker outflow.
Debby Blakey interviewed
by Dallas Bastian
T
he aged care sector is facing a potential shortfall of
80,000 workers over the next five years.
That’s one of the key findings of a new HESTA report
that draws on its more than 200,000 members working in the
space and explores the movements of health and community
services (HACS) workers.
Chief executive Debby Blakey said the research found just under
a quarter of aged care workers surveyed intend to leave the sector
in 1–5 years.
The report, Transforming Aged Care: Reimagining the Aged
Care Workforce of Tomorrow, holds that this is equivalent to
84,000 employees within the aged care workforce – and only
4000 workers are expected to enter the sector from other areas
of HACS.
“Our research identifies a worrying potential outflow of
workers from aged care in the next five years, just as we need
to be attracting significantly more people to work in the sector,”
Blakey said.
The most common reasons for aged care workers wanting
to leave the industry include the desire to try something
different (38 per cent) and not being paid enough (22 per cent).
Just under half said they wanted to exit the sector to develop
new skills.
Still, the majority (77 per cent) of those surveyed indicated that
they intend to work in the sector for the long term.
“Aged care employees spoke of how rewarding they found
caring for Australia’s elders — of special moments shared, of
wanting to make a difference, or simply the power of being there
to listen,” Blakey said. “It’s this human connection that lies at the
heart of retaining valuable, experienced employees and attracting
the new entrants to the industry.”
Some of the suggested pathways employers and/or employees
put forward as key to attracting and retaining staff included
well-structured and consistent job training and career pathways,
flexible rosters, and greater certainty of hours.
28 agedcareinsite.com.au
Employers also eyed recruiting new talent from allied industries
such as hospitality and retail, and promoting technological
innovation in robotics and AI to attract Millennials to the sector.
Some saw training and employee development as a competitive
edge in terms of customer care and staff engagement.
“They have their own in-house training programs and some
want to become registered training organisations,” the report read.
Blakey said: “The research highlights lots of positive solution-
led sug