The Big Care Shift

In late 2022 the Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO) delivered a series of events bringing together thought leaders from Australia and the United Kingdom with industry stakeholders to discuss how we can attract and retain the right people with the right skills to meet current and future demand.

The series featured Bernard Salt AM, from The Demographics Group, and recruitment specialist Neil Eastwood from Care Friends in the United Kingdom, as keynote speakers. Videos of their presentations are below as well as their accompanying slide decks.

We believe the development of innovative, evidence-based solutions to deliver the skilled and adaptable workforce the sector needs is crucial. For this reason, the HSSO commissioned Bernard Salt and The Demographics Group to unpack what the 2021 Census tells us about the care and support workforce, and those who rely on it.

The “Big Care Shift” report is the outcome of this analysis. It raises questions about the scale and expansion of the Health Care and Social Assistance workforce. How can we support a workforce that is expanding at a rate of 24,000 net extra workers per year? Faster than any other workforce in the country.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

We are encouraging you to see the opportunity in confronting the challenge. We need to invest time and effort to build a high quality and sustainable care and support sector. It is too late to wait for silver bullet solutions. We need to share successes and work out how to scale them. We all have a role to play in building the future care and support workforce.

Resources

Jodi Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, HSSO, gave an overview of what we already know about the challenges confronting the sector including current national workforce and skills data. You can access state and territory extracts of this national data in the ‘related resources’ section, found in the top of the right-hand sidebar.

Download Jodi’s presentation

Bernard Salt AM, one of Australia’s leading social commentators gave an outline of what he thinks about the critical issues facing the care and support sector. His presentation contains information on what is driving the challenge, where the workers are and what the data tells us. Watch the recording of Bernard’s presentation and download his slide deck below.

Download Bernard’s presentation

Neil Eastwood, founder, and Chief Executive Officer of Care Friends provided insights based on his experience. His presentation details solutions implemented in the UK care and support sectors including worker registration, immigration, wage increases and recruitment initiatives. Watch the recording of Neil’s presentation and download his slide deck below.

Download Neil’s presentation