Career Pathways for Care & Support Sectors: Aged, Disability & Veterans' Care
Overview
The project will deliver a Careers Pathway Framework and a Best Practice guide to help learners, job seekers and employers to make choices that contribute to the professionalisation of the sectors.
Endorsement and Implementation
The Career Pathways project aimed to help people working in the aged, disability and veterans' care sectors to find clear and rewarding career plans. Through extensive consultation and research, the project identified key strategies to strengthen workforce development and mobility.
The project’s key recommendations include:
- developing specific training programs for emerging roles
- standardising qualification requirements
- increasing advanced specialisation programs
- enhancing cultural competence training.
These strategies will improve career progression and workforce mobility and support the inclusion of underrepresented groups. The project also identified key career pathways and the required training to support them.
A series of resources developed as part of the Career Pathways for Care and Support Sectors: Aged, Disability and Veterans' Care project include:
- a career pathways framework
- a career pathways framework map
- a good practice guide
- promotional flyers
- career profile videos of people working in aged care and disability services.
With aged care, disability services and veterans’ care making up a significant proportion of Australia’s wider care and support economy it is hoped that these resources will help to attract more workers, assist with worker retention and encourage increased training and employment, particularly from First Nations people, people with a disability, young people and males.
These resources have been developed with the collaborative efforts between our aged care and disability services project team, industry, governments, unions, training bodies and communities. Thanks to everyone who was involved in the project development and delivery.
With aged care, disability services and veterans’ care making up a significant proportion of Australia’s wider care and support economy it is hoped that these resources will help to attract more workers, assist with worker retention and encourage increased training and employment, particularly from First Nations people, people with a disability, young people and males.
These resources have been developed with the collaborative efforts between our aged care and disability services project team, industry, governments, unions, training bodies and communities. Thanks to everyone who was involved in the project development and delivery.
Finalisation and Submission
After extensive consultation and research, we drafted a Career Pathways Framework and incorporated feedback from key stakeholders and project reference group members. We would like to thank the contribution and generous sharing of sector knowledge from all participants.
Consultation
We shared our initial findings and tested the approaches for the framework and guide in a series of 2-hour sessions held around the country during October and early November 2024.
Public submissions were invited from relevant stakeholders including industry associations and employers, employee representatives, peak bodies and government agencies.
A submission paper provideed background information on the care workforces in scope for this project, including existing education, training and pathways associated with roles. The paper also highlighted the key challenges and opportunities to support quality aged, disability and veterans’ care in the future and asked particpants to answer some questions. Acil Allen were engaged to facilitate the gathering and analysis of all responses.
Set Up
Aged care and disability services make up a significant proportion of Australia’s wider care and support economy. These sectors are among Australia's fastest growing, alongside early childhood education and care and veterans’ care.
Our project objectives are to:
- clearly articulate job roles and career pathways across the care and support sector, identifying where training may need to be reviewed
- identify and support new approaches to workforce development, highlighting career progression alignment and opportunities in and across aged care, disability services and veterans’ care
- support the attraction of more workers to the sector
- support increased worker retention and reduce attrition rates
- support increased participation in training and employment, particularly from under-represented groups such as First Nations people, people with a disability, young people and men.