Aged care partnerships for skills development
Release: 31st March 2008
Esset Australia is pleased to announce the commencement of two new industry partnerships in NSW and ACT.
Esset Australia has begun employee course enrolments with Baptist Community Services (BCS) NSW/ACT in its community and aged care operations. BCS has been at the forefront of aged and community care for over fifty years, and now engages over 3500 employees and 1000 volunteers in care services to the NSW and ACT communities.
Working through the Australian Apprenticeships program, Community Aged Care Workforce Development program, and other planned initiatives as they are released, Esset Australia will be supporting the workforce of BCS in accessing relevant nationally recognised qualifications and short course topics related to quality care provision, and is also planning a suite of jobseeker programs to also assist BCS to prepare for continued growth in employee numbers and needs.
The program also aims to address barriers to training in rural and remote areas in several BCS service locations in regional NSW, by providing flexible delivery of a range of programs on site in facilities.
Warrigal Care has been providing aged services for over 40 years, through a range of residential and community aged care sites around NSW and ACT regions. Currently employing over 500 staff, Warrigal Care has also commenced a pilot program with Esset Australia in its ACT operations.
The initial pilot is focused on the delivery of national qualifications to support workers as they provide quality care to a diverse range of clients. The qualifications, including aged care, will support and up-skill employees in a wide range of key topic areas, including:
- Infection control;
- Dementia;
- Maintaining independence;
- Supporting group activities;
- Manual handling;
- Risk management;
- Care planning; and
- Food safety.
The community and health services industry of which these organisations are a part is a growing area of the national economy. The industry has a diverse employee base and includes both paid and voluntary workers with a wide variety of backgrounds and skills. A large number of those engaged in the industry are seeking formal qualifications or seeking to build upon existing skills.
Mr Phill Bevan, Managing Director of Esset Australia, highlights that "the engagement of additional employees and volunteers in aged and community services sectors in the coming years will be critical to the continued provision of high quality care services to our community. Organisations such as BCS and Warrigal Care continue to seek the best training opportunities and services to meet the requirements of the community sector."
"The increasing complexity of regulatory requirements, client needs and support in regional areas has led to a need to improve and change the way that training is provided to meet the needs of organisations and the industry sectors as a whole."
For further information, contact:
Esset Australia
Lesley Blefari
Project Manager
Ph: 1300 558 936
lblefari@esset.com.au
Esset Australia delivers courses and qualifications across all Australian states & territories, utilising the latest in distance, blended learning and e-learning strategies to ensure participants are supported through their program and achieve a high educational outcome.
In addition to holding full Australian government registration and accreditation for national courses, Esset Australia also holds ISO 9001:2000 International Quality Assurance certification, demonstrating the organisation's commitment to the highest standards in education provision and client satisfaction.
Esset Australia's industry focused provision of skill development programs has led to numerous state and national industry accreditations, including the Records Management Association of Australasia (RMAA), Festivals and Events Association, Liquor Licensing Tasmania and Victoria and the Health Training Solutions initiative in association with AMA Victoria, AMA South Australia, AMA Tasmania and AMA ACT.
Other recent media releases are available at: www.esset.com.au/media.htm