Driving private training providers ‘out of business’

The South Australian Government’s new WorkReady program, announced last week, raises a number of concerns for the aged care sector, reducing the choice and flexibility available to both students and employers.

The State Government has not allocated sufficient subsidised places to meet projected demand – there are less than 600 places across Certificate III in Aged Care and Certificate III in Home and Community Care, with no places allocated to Certificate IV in Aged Care. This allocation is likely to lead to shortages of trained care staff in the aged care sector, especially as the sector transitions to Consumer Directed Care.

The absence of Certificate IV funding is particularly worrying to Aged & Community Services SA & NT (ACS), which calls on the state government to work with employers to ensure a vibrant training system that will supply the skilled and flexible workforce we need to care for older South Australians.

Carolanne Barkla, ACS acting chief executive, claims that with an ageing population, the sector needs a sufficient supply of properly trained workers.

“Many of our members are deeply concerned about the effects of this decision on the sector’s ability to recruit appropriately trained individuals. Training in regional areas is likely to be hit especially hard by the decision,” Ms Barkla says.

“ACS members in regional areas already face significant challenges in recruiting staff; limited training in regional South Australia will only make this worse,” she claims.

‘We have advocated for a training system based on contestibility between public and private Registered Training Organisations, which provides choice and quality outcomes for both students and employers. ACS and its members remain committed to this goal.”

Aged and Community Services SA & NT is the peak body providing strategic leadership to 95% of the not for profit aged and community sector in South Australia and members in the Northern Territory.