Australian Bureau of Statistics forecasts predict that within just a few decades, at least 1 in every 5 people in the country will be aged 65 or older. This is putting massive pressure on the aged and community care industry to supply the country with enough qualified health care workers to provide the kind of support and quality of life we expect for elderly Australians.

To prepare the Australian aged care workforce to meet this massive demand, the Community Services & Health Industry Skills Council (CSHISC) recently announced an updated training package to give personal care and support workers more flexibility to meet the needs of this industry.

The brand new Certificate III in Individual Support (CHC33015) is included in this package. It supersedes the current Certificate III level courses in aged, disability and home and community care and is now the standard qualification for the industry.

So how is the Certificate III in Individual Support different and will these affect you?

Here’s what you need to know:

2. What Will Happen To The Aged, Community And Disability Care Courses?

The CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support replaces three current qualifications:

The new qualification will still allow you to specialize in one of these three areas of personal care – disability, aged care, and home and community care – but this will be achieved by you completing a specific set of units as part of you Individual Support course, rather than enrolling in a particular qualification.

The 3 superseded courses have 14 total units each. The new Certificate III in Individual Support has just 13 total course units, including:

3. What Are The CHC33015 Core And Elective Course Units?

The Cert III in Individual Support allows you to specialise in 3 different areasWhen you enrol in this course, there are 7 core units you must complete no matter which specialisation you wish to complete:

The 6 elective units are split into 3 main groups. You are free to choose a set of electives, and your chosen units will determine which specialisation you will gain:

Group A  – AGEING specialisation (3 units)

Group B – DISABILITY specialisation (4 units)

Group C – HOME AND COMMUNITY specialisation (5 units)

or

You can also potentially choose from 54 Other Electives named by the CSHISC that are related to Health and Community Care, Business, Hospitality and Transport and Logistics. In many cases, your training provider will have already picked electives and designed a course that will ensure you get great career outcomes from your new qualification.

The complete list of possible electives can be found on www.training.gov.au.

4. How Can You Specialise In Aged, Disability Or Home And Community Care?

The Certificate III in Individual Support will allow you to specialise in 3 care settings. You can specialise in just a single area or choose any combination including gaining specialisations for all 3.

A. If you want to be a specialist in an aged care setting and gain the Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing), you need to complete 13 units:

B. If you want to be a specialist in a community care setting and gain the Certificate III in Individual Support (Home and Community), you need to complete 13 units:

C. If you want to be a specialist in a disability setting and gain the Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability), you need to complete 13 units:

5. How Much Vocational Placement Do You Now Need?

Aged and Disabled carers Hands on experience is extremely important in the health and community care industry.

Current certificate III courses in aged care, disability and home and community care require at least 80 hours of vocational placement in a registered care facility.

The new Certificate III in Individual Support increases the minimum amount of vocational placement to 120 hours.

This change gives new personal care workers more time to practice the lessons from their course units and to learn from current care professionals. Familiarity with how the industry works and experience in handling real life situations can also increase your employability when your start applying for jobs after graduating.

Registered care providers also benefit from this by having fully qualified carers ready to fill in the vacancies created by the huge demand in Australia. A skilled workforce helps aged care facilities and community care centers comply with industry quality standards.

6. When Was The Certificate III In Individual Support Released?

The CSHISC, the industry skills body for health and community services, submitted the proposed training package last May 2015.

It was officially endorsed on 6 August 2015 the Department of Education and Training. This means registered training organisations (RTO) now have the green light to begin delivering training for this new qualification.

7. Will Current Aged And Community Workers Have To Upgrade Their Qualification?

Aged care facilities, community centres and other care providers prioritise staffs that have formal qualifications. Most qualified carers today hold qualifications like the Cert III in Aged Care, but there are no formal industry requirements on what course you should complete.

If you are already working in aged, disability or community care, gaining additional specialisations with the Certificate III in Individual Support can be helpful to expand your career.

Consult with your employer on what qualification would be ideal and if they can support you in your studies.

8. Should New Aged And Community Care Workers Wait For The New Qualification?

If you are just starting a career in personal or community care, you can still take up courses such as the Cert III in Home and Community Care, which are still valid today.

Training organisations still need time to develop course materials for the new Certificate III in Individual Support because it has just recently been finalised. They will have 12 months to transition students to this new qualification.

You don’t need to delay starting your career by a year because the certificate III courses in aged care, disability and home and community care will still be valid during this period.

Holding a qualification now helps you apply for jobs and gain valuable work experience. You can use this work experience to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning and gain credit for the new course units if you decide to specialise in the new qualification later on.

9. Are You Required To Have A Specialisation?

No, choosing and gaining one or more of the 3 specialisations is not required. You will gain the Certificate III in Individual Support qualification as long as you meet its new packaging rules.

Summary: The Certificate III In Individual Support

A new training package has just been released to help Australians fill in job vacancies in the health and community care industry created by our rapidly ageing population.

Instead of having separate courses for Aged Care, Disability and Home and Community Care, these are now merged into a single qualification called the Certificate III in Individual Support.

This new course features major changes to core and elective units, more placement hours to gain experience, and the opportunity to specialise in one or more care settings.