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Consider the disability sector.
That’s the word from The Disability Trust chief operating officer Ed Birt.
It is because one in five jobs over the next five years will be in the disability sector to keep up with the massive growth under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Mr Birt said disability providers generally are struggling to keep pace with demand for services.
And as the sector scales up there are new challenges for providers of services in the Illawarra and other parts of Australia.
“For us and many other service providers, it is a constant cycle of recruitment to try and keep up with the increasing demand for our services,” Mr Birt said.
it is a constant cycle of recruitment to try and keep up with the increasing demand for our services
- Ed Birt
“The State of the Sector Report compiled by National Disability Services, the peak body for disability providers, showed that 57 per cent of service providers were having difficulty recruiting disability support staff.
“The problem is only likely to worsen with the workforce needing to double by the year 2020 requiring an additional 60 to 90,000 workers across the country over the next two years in order to meet the needs of clients availing themselves of these services.”
Mr Birt said that was placing the sector under pressure to recruit and train new staff.
“In many instances we simply cannot get staff to fill short shifts and travel significant distances,” he said.
“While we recognise that to be in demand is in many ways a great tribute to our teams, we do want to make sure that the services we provide are of high quality, delivered by caring staff who are both educated and supported.
“To achieve this means we have to be honest and sometimes advise our clients that we simply can’t do it all. This is never an easy conversation to have and we would like to be able to say yes to everybody”.
Mr Birt said The Disability Trust regularly highlights the range of roles on offer in the sector.
They are not just on the frontline. Positions can include marketing, HR, finance, IT, asset and people management, as well as clinical and therapeutic services.
“The opportunities are incredible for those setting out on a career path or looking to forge a new course. I am talking to young people all the time and I always encourage them to think seriously about disability services for their future career”.
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