Aged Care Employee Day – What you need to know
It takes a special someone to work in aged care. While every aged care employee has highly valued practical skills – whether they’re a nurse, a care worker, a driver, a chef, a cleaner, a maintenance worker or a lifestyle officer – it’s the way aged care employees interact with the elderly loved ones in […]
It takes a special someone to work in aged care. While every aged care employee has highly valued practical skills – whether they’re a nurse, a care worker, a driver, a chef, a cleaner, a maintenance worker or a lifestyle officer – it’s the way aged care employees interact with the elderly loved ones in their care that makes them all extraordinary.
The patience, empathy and love that aged care employees pour into their work is something to be celebrated.
What is Aged Care Employee Day?
Aged Care Employee Day is celebrated annually on 7 August. The day provides everyone in the community with the opportunity to celebrate each and every employee involved in providing care to older people. There are currently 365,000 aged care employees across Australia, dedicated to caring for 1.3 million older Australians.
How did Aged Care Employee Day begin?
Aged Care Employee Day was first established in 2018 by not-for-profit aged care provider Whiddon. In 2019, Leading Age Services Australia made the day a national event to honour the many thousands of people working in aged care around the country and the extraordinary role they play in caring for senior Australians. It is now an official day, registered with awarenessdays.com.
How to celebrate Aged Care Employee Day
Celebrating Aged Care Employee Day is simple – thank the people you know working in aged care! Say thanks for caring to the hundreds of thousands of people working hard to provide the best possible care to older Australians. Post a #ThanksForCaring message on social media, say it in person, over the phone or in a letter. The simple gesture of saying thank you is all it takes to get involved in recognising the incredible work of Australia’s aged care employees.
To thank someone who works at IRT visit this page on our website staging.irt.org.au/thanks-for-caring and tell us how special they are to you and your family. We’ll take it from there and share your thanks with our Facebook followers and website visitors.
Quick facts about Australia’s aged care workforce –
- More than 365,000 aged care employees care for 1.3 million older Australians*
- 87 percent of the residential aged care workforce is female with a median age of 46 years, 32 percent were born overseas*
- By 2024 the workforce will need to increase by around 3,600 Registered Nurses and 34,200 personal care workers**
- By 2050 the aged care workforce is expected to grow to more than one million people**
- Attracting and retaining skilled and professional workers is key to meeting the care needs of senior Australians
*The Aged Care Workforce, 2016 – Australian Government Department of Health
**Ageing and Aged Care Budget 2021-22 – Australian Government Department of Health
Discover the many benefits of working in aged care.
Become an aged care worker
Want to truly make a difference in the lives of older Australians? IRT Academy is a nationally-recognised training organisation offering online and face-to-face job-ready training in aged care. Find out more and take the first step towards becoming an aged care worker.
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