INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY
TRAINEESHIPS HELP ALLEVIATE THE AGED CARE WORKFORCE CRISIS INVESTING IN YOUR WORKFORCE IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO BUILD LOYALTY
T
raining your own workforce has long been a solution to chronic staff shortages but in an era of high staff turnover and the ‘portfolio career’, where staff members often have more than one employer, management can sometimes think it is too difficult. Traineeship partnerships with a group training organisation significantly reduces the risk, cost and hassle and could be part of the solution for aged care providers faced with critical staff shortages. Staffing the aged care sector was a challenge long before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has amplified the problem—and that’s reflected in the series of retention bonuses offered to staff in aged care services owned by the Federal Government. Aged care services have been hit hard by a lack of international workers, and staff contracting COVID-19 or isolating after exposure, and the workforce is widely acknowledged to be in crisis. The first rule of crisis leadership is to identify what you can and can’t control in managing the problem—we cannot control the wind, but we can adjust the sails, as American activist Bertha Calloway observed. Clearly the aged care workforce crisis, so long in the making, cannot be solved quickly given retirements, an ongoing pandemic, wages and immigration—but there are some practical strategies for building your workforce. Human resource research shows that investing in people— particularly in training—is one of the best ways to build a loyal workforce. A 2018 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report found 94 per cent of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. And, in an economy characterised by post-COVID workforce restructuring, offering people on-the-job training where they
can earn while they learn—in metro and regional areas—is a major drawcard, particularly for people looking to re-train. Retaining staff will also increasingly require a workplace culture that connects with the values of employees —particularly as the choices of Millennials and Gen Z who make up 46 per cent of the workforce are motivated by values such as diversity, personal development, wellbeing and authenticity. Maxima Group Training—one of Australia’s leading notfor-profit training and staffing agencies—partners with Host Employers to recruit and train the right staff for their organisation. In the business for more than 35 years, we’ve identified the age services industry as an area of crucial community need and we’re investing in a specialist team to develop a certified, nationally recognised qualification to build our aged care workforce. Our aged care traineeships not only provide trainees with bestpractice technical and soft skills while they are getting paid— they make them feel valued and supported. As Jenni, an Individual Support trainee in the Riverland region of South Australia, says, “When I go home at the end of my shift, I feel satisfied that I have really contributed to the wellbeing of older people in my community, not only helping them with their daily personal needs, but connecting socially.” While aged care organisations might feel that they don’t have the resources to manage trainees, partnering with a relevant training program, like Maxima’s Group Training Program, takes the pressure off, providing mentoring, onboarding, monitoring and performance support. Training partners usually manage everything from advertising, testing, interviewing and short-listing candidates to the legal aspects of employment including insurance, superannuation and providing personal and protective equipment. Continued on page 69
68
