250,000 extra health and social assistance workers needed by 2025
National Skills Week’s Chairman Brian Wexham notes that health, social assistance and childcare services are in high demand. Australia needs a major jump in the number of people becoming skilled and working in these areas given our ageing population, and growing demand for early childhood education.
Mr Wexham said: “Health care and social assistance is Australia’s largest employer with over 1.8 million workers, which sounds like a high base. With the number of people aged 65 years and over projected to nearly double from 3.8 million in 2017 to more like 6.5 million in 2042, however, it’s clear we will need many more such workers. Medical advances mean the skillset required will also increase.