General News
27 July, 2023
New shift to change up local job opportunities
In the face of ongoing staff shortages, local aged care provider Havilah has come up with a novel solution to the problem — offering new shifts that fit around employees’ family commitments. With new management at the helm, the organisation is...
In the face of ongoing staff shortages, local aged care provider Havilah has come up with a novel solution to the problem — offering new shifts that fit around employees’ family commitments.
With new management at the helm, the organisation is working on attracting more staff by testing out a 9 am to 3 pm shift suited for parents with children in school.
The trial shift, currently only being offered to nursing and clinical staff, will give some people the opportunity to go back to work according to Havilah Hostel director of care Stacey Perry.
“Staffing is quite challenging everywhere in health at the moment but especially in aged care so we were looking at different ways to get more staff and one of the things we looked at was the parent shift,” she said.
“Through this shift, we are targeting parents with young children who are looking to return to the workforce.
“Eight hour shifts that start from 7 am to 3 pm or 3 pm to 11 pm are not very appealing to parents. With this new trial shift, parents can drop their kids off at school, go to work and then pick them up after they’ve finished work.”
Alongside employment, those part of the parent shift will also have the opportunity to gain a Certificate III in Individual Support while they work — with training delivered by Partners in Training Australia, eligible candidates will be paid while they study and undertake placements as part of the course.
“We are taking on anyone who wants to do the certificate III on a traineeship so we’ll pay them to attend their study day which is one day a week,” Ms Perry said.
“We’ll also have them do on the job placement involving 120 hours of paid work.
“What we do ask of them is a commitment to do two or three days of work in Havilah while they undergo training. They will be very well supported on the job.”
Ms Perry said that the new shifts would also help alleviate the burden on existing staff members and help the organisation provide top-notch care to its residents.
“It’s just a constant struggle — a lot of our staff are working full time hours when they don’t necessarily want to and a lot of them are working double shifts as well,” she said.
“When you’ve got a staff shortage, we’re still providing the residents the care they need but it’s not the kind of above and beyond care we would like to provide.
“We’re looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. So by providing a really good work base, the residents get the care that they absolutely deserve and that means that we can spend a lot more one on one time with our residents.”
Those interested in applying for Havilah’s new trial parent shift can get in touch with the organisation by emailing careers@havilah.org.au or calling them on 5461-7383