The Aged Care Workforce Industry Council (ACWIC) has rolled out a new Workforce Planning Tool designed with and for Australian aged care providers.
Accessible via the ACWIC website, the tool gives a baseline understanding of an aged care organisation’s workforce, supporting the organisation to then develop a sustainable workforce plan.
Operators can enter data about people they care for and roles and services provided, for which the tool will then deliver a free and confidential workforce gap analysis.
ACWIC CEO Louise O’Neill (pictured) tells The Weekly SOURCE that the tool will highlight potential workforce gaps for aged care operators ahead of the introduction of the Government’s mandatory 200 direct care minute requirement, particularly for small and medium-sized aged care providers.
“A number of very large organisations will already have tools that they utilise to help them with workforce planning and modelling, but we know that many small to medium providers can’t afford those services,” she said.
Louise says the tool, which is aligned with the 2018 National Aged Care Workforce Strategy, will also be useful for home care providers, who face a new two-hour minimum shift for workers from 1 July 2022.
“We have collaborated with aged care workers and managers responsible for workforce planning across a range of settings throughout the development phase, to ensure that it is fit for purpose. We’ve received really positive feedback so far, and we’ll continue to seek input from the sector as we work to improve the features and functionality,” she said.
While there was concern from operators that the data would sit in the system, the CEO also confirmed that this is not the case.
“There was worry that the information would go back to the Department of Health or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), but we don’t see the actual input,” she said.
The ACWIC will be offering lunchtime seminars to teach operators how to use the tool – so watch this space.
