Aged Care Training Initiative Across Tasmania
Release: 14th April 2006
Esset Australia 's Support for Aged Care Workers Training Program, a $1.1 million training initiative funded by the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing, has been successfully implemented across sixteen Tasmanian aged care facilities.
The Support for Aged Care Workers Training Project commenced in October 2005 and will run to June 2006. The project has involved over 450 participants across Tasmanian aged care facilities partnering to complete on the job and seminar-based training programs. Each participating residential aged care facility has contributed to the project in various ways.
The project has been designed to remove the barriers to training in rural and remote areas of Tasmania , by providing flexible delivery of a range of programs, including short courses through to full Certificate and Diploma level courses. Project topics include:
- Dementia
- Palliative Care
- Diversional Therapy
- Dealing with Grief
- Manual Handling
- Risk Management
- Care Planning
- Food Safety
- Certificates in Aged Care Work
Over twenty different course areas are being delivered as a part of the initiative, direct to aged care workers, onsite at their facilities, around Tasmania . Onsite delivery locations include Queenstown, Smithton, St Helens, George Town , Oatlands, Flinders Island , Swansea , Campbell Town , Ulverstone and Deloraine.
Phill Bevan, Managing Director of Esset Australia , describes the project as a 'fantastic opportunity for aged care workers and residential facilities to access training and skill development opportunities they would not otherwise be able to do.'
Barriers to participation in training by aged care workers that have been identified through the project implementation include a lack of confidence to study, the cost of training, time to study, low levels of literacy and numeracy, and difficulty accessing training. The Department of Health and Ageing has provided funds to address these issues so that staff will be educated to cope with the increasing and changing skills needs of the aged care industry and to ensure the high quality of life for the residents.
For further information please contact:
Esset Australia
Anne Tocher
Community Services & Health Manager
Ph: 03 6331 3635
atocher@esset.com.au