The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) has confirmed the appointment of members to the Aged Services Industry Reference Committee (IRC).
The IRC will bring industry, health professionals, education and training peaks and consumers together to set the competencies and skills needed to deliver safe, quality aged care services in Australia.
The IRC will progress key findings from the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce report, A Matter of Care, released by the Australian Government on 13 September 2018.
AISC Chair, Professor John Pollaers OAM, who was also Chair of the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce, welcomed the strong interest and support from industry to participate and contribute to the IRC.
“The Aged Services IRC will bring together industry, consumers and other key stakeholders to identify the skills needed in the aged services sector to deliver safe and quality care,” Professor Pollaers said.
“The IRC will have an important role in examining the skills requirements for current and emerging job roles across the sector, improved approaches to career progression, and the education pathways across both the vocational and higher education sectors needed to support these.”
The IRC includes consumer advocates, health professionals, peak industry bodies and employer and employee representatives. The IRC has been established by the AISC to review and develop national competency standards and career pathways for the aged services industry to support high quality clinical and living well models of care.
Professor Pollaers said, “Through the course of the Taskforce’s work, substantial issues were identified around the skills gaps, lack of career pathways and delivery of current training. As identified in A Matter of Care, the work of the new IRC will be centred around the delivery of holistic models of care that include a focus on clinical health, functional health, cognitive health, living well aspirations and cultural needs.”
The AISC would like to thank individuals, businesses and industries that have participated in the IRC consultation and nomination processes.
For more information: https://www.aisc.net.au/irc/aged-care-industry-reference-committee.