By 2055, it’s estimated that nearly two thirds of the world’s population aged over 65 will be living in the Asia Pacific region. Yet by 2055, there’ll only be 2.7 Australians of working age for every Australian aged 65 years and older. Plus, the number of Australians aged 65+ is projected to more than double by 2055 compared with today; reaching almost 7 million. Our population is getting larger in size and older in age and will require specialised care.
But are we prepared for the increasing care requirements to support our ageing society?
Recently CHARLTON BROWN® hosted the Global Welfare Summit on the Gold Coast, bringing together more than 400 delegates from Australia and around the world from the aged care, nursing and allied health specialties. Discussions focussed on care training and education as well as striking the balance between responsibility and innovation in care for the ageing.
Australia is not alone in our concerns, in fact, based on current predictions many countries will not have enough trained aged care professionals to meet the growing demand. Australia is seen as a leader in the aged care education and training sector and there’s so much we can share with our neighbouring countries in an effort to drive up the levels of skilled workers in these fields.
But sometimes it’s a matter of making more people aware of the job opportunities in this sector and getting them on a training path to begin a new and sustainable career.
Someone like Jeff Merrett is a great example.
After 20 years in the Navy, Jeff joined the mining industry specialising in logistics and supply. Jeff was sure it was the right decision and it utilised his transferable skill set.
Within a few years, due to the downturn in the mining sector, Jeff found himself redundant—a daunting prospect in your mid 50s. Jeff wasn’t ready to retire and although he had limited exposure to the aged care industry, he’d heard about the strong employment prospects. Jeff enrolled in a CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support (Aged Care) with CHARLTON BROWN® and is now well on his way to a career in aged care.
“The CHARLTON BROWN team has supported me every step of the way and my trainers even found my practical placement for me. I haven’t even finished my studies and I already have industry job interviews.” — Jeff Merrett
By 2019, expected job openings in Australia alone for carers is set to reach over 50,000—CHARLTON BROWN® training and employment outcomes are the first step towards joining the fastest growing sector in Australia.
Petrina Fraccaro is General Manager of CHARLTON BROWN®, one of Australia’s leading training providers and job placement agencies for the child care, aged care, community services and disability care industries. With more than 20 years of experience in Senior Marketing and Communication positions, and 15 years in the private and public tertiary and vocational education industries, Petrina drives the Operations, Sales and Marketing, Student Recruitment and Enrolments and Administration for CHARLTON BROWN®. She was a 2014 Business Person of the Year finalist in Brisbane’s Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Business Awards and holds a number of positions with boards and industry associations. www.charltonbrown.com.au
