To address the ongoing staff shortage in aged care, Illawarra provider IRT has recruited nearly 100 staff from the Philippines to fill the worker gap.
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After completing their training, the first two groups are now working on site in Woonona and Nowra, and more are expected to come before Christmas.
IRT CEO Patrick Reid said the ongoing challenge of attracting people to come and work in aged care meant the business had to think laterally.
"When we looked at domestic recruitment, we're constantly in the market but we weren't getting the numbers we needed," he said.
Mr Reid said the need was particularly acute in the Shoalhaven, where the region's housing crisis makes it nearly impossible to hire staff.
To get around this, the new staff are billeted in former aged care properties owned by IRT that have been retrofitted to be staff quarters, as well as private rentals arranged by IRT and rented to staff.
Two of the new starters at Woonona are Jane Cabel and Leanne Marie.
Ms Cabel, a registered nurse from Manila, had previously worked overseas as a nurse in Saudi Arabia, but said she preferred to come to Australia as she could connect more with her charges, and not have to deal with 40 degree days throughout the year.
"What I love about Australia is you're so approachable," she said.
Ms Cabel also highlighted that the wage she receives in Australia is four times the amount she would earn as a nurse back home.
"We're overworked, underpaid in the Philippines."
For Ms Marie, she swapped her corporate career to come to Australia after her sister made the switch to working as a nurse in Melbourne. While the salary she receives now is equivalent to what she was being paid in the Philippines, she didn't have to work up the ranks for 16 years to get to where she is now.
"I can definitely see myself working here for a long time," Ms Marie said.
For IRT, Mr Reid said the cost of importing workers from overseas, whether in terms of visas, accommodation or training, outweighed the urgent need to not only have staff to run the centres, but to alleviate the burden on an overstretched workforce that had endured years of COVID restrictions and avoid the need to rely on agency staff.
"Staff have worked so hard for so long, and been understaffed because of COVID, it's a breath of fresh air."
IRT is looking to roll out the program across its sites outside of metropolitan Sydney, and is in the process of securing workers from the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. Mr Reid said there was the potential for workers such as Ms Cabel to have their qualifications recognised in Australia, further growing the number of key workers in the Illawarra.
"Hopefully, if they do become a [registered nurse] they will want to stay and if they don't stay with us that's ok, because we need more nurses everywhere."
For those who have started at Woonona, there might be one sticking point. Ms Cabel and Ms Marie said they've enjoyed trying out Aussie foods on their trips to the supermarket, but there is one item they're yet to fall in love with.
"We love the lamingtons, but the Vegemite, not so much."
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