Facing the Future recap + Q&A with keynote speaker Warren Hill

Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA) hosted the 'Facing the Future' Conference earlier this month in Adelaide. Their theme: Living Well, Ageing Well and Dying Well.

ARIIA chief Reuben Jacob said that research has shown that older people desire more agency around the delivery of their care and most want to age at home. He reiterated the need for innovation in the sector as the Australian population continues to age.

“Around 4.2 million people are now aged 65 or over which is 16 per cent of our population. In
addition, those aged over 85 years have almost doubled and are expected to make up around three per cent of the demographic by 2042. Our caring workforce is also ageing which leaves us with an enormous challenge, especially as we are striving for high quality care and a broader range of supports," Mr Jacob said.

Reflecting on the success of the two day ARIIA event, which included speeches from 16 keynote speakers on a broad range of industry topics, Mr Jacob talked about the relationship between tech and innovation.

“ARIIA’s 2024 Facing the Future conference was extremely successful with just under 400 delegates gathering from around the country to share learnings and solution-focused case studies and to discuss the role of technology, workforce, and innovation in shaping the future of Australian aged care," he said.

“While rapid change is a challenge for any industry, the conference also highlighted many opportunities which Australian aged-care providers are well placed to benefit from and are already pursuing. Insights from international speakers from the Netherlands, Canada, India and the UK into holistic ageing and social-based care, the successes of star rating models and employee ownership models have provided useful research on new approaches. Learning from these will help us develop more person-centered care models which we know elders want.

“The take-outs from this year’s conference are to use existing technology solutions that have been developed to improve tasks and processes to free up time for human interactions, keeping the focus on improving the experience of elders using care services, and continuing to develop and build the skills of our aged care workforce. Ultimately, we want industry to have the courage to really embrace the kind of innovation we have heard about at this year’s conference.”

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During the conference Aged Care Insite caught up with keynote speaker Warren Hill, HumanAbility executive director of research and workforce, and he has provided us with more information on how it HumanAbility is 'Facing the Future' of the aged care sector.

What are the key aged care issues HumanAbility has identified and how do you work to address them?

A range of workforce issues have been identified in the aged care sector through our research and consultation with industry. These include the need to attract more workers into the sector to meet current and future demand; to reduce the attrition rates of workers performing key roles; develop more visible and transparent career pathways, and ensuring the training system is providing new entrants with quality, relevant training needed by the sector. Upskilling opportunities for existing workers is another issue that has been raised consistently.

In response, HumanAbility is working with industry, government, and registered training organisations on several initiatives.

• HumanAbility is reviewing implementation and delivery of the two key nationally accredited qualifications that provide people with the skills and knowledge to enter the sector in personal care and support roles.
• Career Pathways for the Care and Support sectors will identify current and emerging job roles and career pathways across the care and support sector, and strengthen the alignment between these pathways and training offerings. Promoting these pathways and innovative approaches to workforce development will support the attraction of more workers to the sector, increase retention and reduce attrition rates.
• HumanAbility will be reviewing the aged care national training qualifications. The review will be informed by the two previous projects and ensure the national qualifications are aligned to the sectors’ current and future workforce needs, and provide learners with the skills and knowledge to work in a variety of jobs and in a variety of settings.   

How important is training and education for attaining and retaining staff in aged care?

Training and development are key factors in attracting and retaining the aged care sectors workforce. The Certificate III in Individual Support and Certificate IV in Ageing Support qualifications provide students with the opportunity to work in direct care and support roles in a variety of settings.

The skills and knowledge gained enables services to provide quality care and support to their clients. It also ensures graduating students have a good understanding of the variety of job roles, tasks required, and clients’ needs prior to entering the sector. This helps to reduce attrition rates.

Ongoing development is also critical to retaining experienced workers. The research, and our industry consultations, clearly show existing workers want to feel valued and have their efforts recognised.

Organisations that invest in workers’ ongoing professional development, such as leadership and management skills or technical skills, are more successful in retaining their workforce.

What is your vision of the future for the sector?

The sector’s need for a skilled workforce will continue to grow, primarily driven by two factors – demographic changes and changing demands on service providers. As the population ages, more clients will have more complex needs, as well as greater expectations on the services and supports available to them.

We’ve already seen a substantial increase in people wanting to age in their home, which will only continue to grow. These two trends pose both challenges and opportunities for the sector in terms of the design of services and delivery models.

It also means the sector will need a larger workforce with a wider range of skills and knowledge in order to meet those needs.

What flow on effects do you see from empowering members of the aged care workforce with improved knowledge and skills?

From a HumanAbility perspective, empowering the workforce means carers will have the skills and knowledge to identify opportunities to deliver better care. This has the potential to benefit the client, the staff and the organisation.

Aged care workers who are given the opportunity to use their knowledge and experience to improve practices are more engaged, and likely to stay with an organisation that values and recognises their skills and abilities and their clients or residents will benefit from the quality of their services.