Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I recently had the pleasure of attending the graduation of 15 young people from the Illawarra Retirements Trust's Young@Heart program. This is a fantastic initiative funded by the federal government that aims to tackle two issues at once by addressing the high rate of unemployment in the Illawarra as well as the critical shortage of aged-care workers. We know that aged care is a heavily understaffed area in Australia at the moment, especially in my electorate of Throsby. This is due to the rapid expansion of the industry in the ageing of the existing workforce. That is why I am thrilled to say that the 15 students, who graduated with six units of competency in a Certificate III in aged care, with invaluable hours of local work experience, will all be guaranteed a job in the industry.

My favourite story of the day came from Michelle, who was there with her husband and two kids. She had been out of the workforce for nine years, but, thanks to Young@Heart, Michelle has found her way back into the workforce and a job she loves. Another inspiring story came from Candice from Mount Warrigal, who decided to enter the program so that she could be a positive role model for her kids and show them how important giving back to the community is. Candice is now taking a step further and studying to become a registered nurse. These women are just two of the 40 young people in the Illawarra who have so far completed the Young@Heart program and are looking after older Australians in needy locations in the region.

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