Nursing scholarships for aged care

Close to 700 students and aged care staff members will benefit from the government’s latest training announcement.

The Rudd Government has announced a nursing scholarship program to attract more nurses to aged care and to increase the skills of the sector’s workers.

The Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot told the Tri-State conference in Mount Gambier that up to 680 people would benefit from $9.5 million worth of scholarships.

Scholarship recipients will receive $30,000 over three years to assist with their nursing studies.

“The aged care industry is Australia’s ninth biggest employer and we are committed to building an aged care workforce for the future,” said Mrs Elliot.

“The funding will support undergraduate and postgraduate nurses predominantly living in rural, regional and remote Australia.”

As many as 560 scholarships will be given to tertiary students who are beginning their studies in 2010.

A further 120 scholarships will be made available to existing staff members.

“These scholarships are a practical way to encourage people to enter the aged care sector and to encourage nurses in the industry to expand their skills and career prospects,” she said.

Applications for the scholarships are being administered by the Royal College of Nursing Australia (RCNA). The scholarships will be advertised on Saturday, 6 March and they must be submitted by Friday, 16 April.

For more information, call the RCNA on 1800 116 696 or send an email enquiry to scholarships@rcna.org.au

Tags: aged-care, education-and-training, rcna, scholarship,

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