Community & Business
17 January, 2024
Best of 2023: New health workers arrive
Filipino workers have been welcomed to Gilgandra to support the care workforce.
First published in November 2023.
The long-awaited arrival of the workers from the Philippines has finally happened with 13 of the 16 arriving in Gilgandra on October 31, 2023.
A welcoming party with a barbecue dinner supplied by the Gilgandra Lions Club at the Coo-ee Heritage Centre was well attended with many Gilgandra residents taking the opportunity to meet and welcome the new residents to the community. The celebration and welcoming party on Thursday night marked the culmination of months of work and patience.
The evening recognised Groworx, the new Filipino residents, the Gilgandra council, and especially the work and effort provided by Donna Dobson the director of aged care and disabilities, who came up with the idea of hiring an immigrant workforce to meet the demands of the aged care service in Gilgandra.
The 13 workers come from all sorts of backgrounds, and many have left their children and partners behind to take the opportunity. The idea of engaging with transnational employees is becoming increasingly necessary in Australia, especially for industries like the aged care sector.
The co-founder and CEO of Groworx, Dan Sandiford, joined the celebration on Thursday night. The aged care industry is in crisis said Mr Sandiford.
“The low end is a 60,000 shortfall of aged care workers. That’s right now, and it’s growing with the demand of 17,000 a year needed to meet the needs of the aged care sector. “Within the next 10 years, the number of people over the age of 85 will triple. We have this inverted population pyramid where we are all living longer but we are not having enough children,” said Mr Sandiford.
For Gilgandra’s newest residents Some of them have already started work with inductions and initiations on Monday, November 6, 2023.
