Training targets community care

The government has announced a number of training and scholarship opportunities to help boost the community care workforce.

The Federal Government has provided updates on a number of proposed training initiatives to boost the community aged care workforce.

Among the announcements from the Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, is the news that 500 training places for community care workers from culturally diverse or indigenous backgrounds will soon be available.

Courses covered by the Commonwealth program will include the Certificate III in Home and Community Care and the Certificate IV in Service Coordination, as well as language and literacy training.

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

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

“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.

Mrs Elliot said 1500 more training places would be made available under the program at later dates.

The Minister also announced the provision of 180 scholarships next year to help community aged nurses improve their skills.

The $10,000 scholarships are part of the $4.5 million Postgraduate Community Aged Care Nursing Scholarships Scheme, which is administered by the Royal College of Nursing Australia.

The scholarship scheme is open to registered and Division 1 nurses who work in community aged care.

It can be used to support tertiary studies, TAFE programs and vocational education and training courses, including short courses and conferences.

For more information, call the college on 1800 551 201 or click here.

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