Excelsia seeks to equip graduates with the practical and theoretical knowledge to positively impact the world as forward thinking and innovative individuals within their chosen field.

As Australia’s ageing population continues to grow, so too does the need for quality aged care workers. The Productivity Commission’s report Caring for Older Australians (2011) estimates over 3.5 million Australians are projected to use aged care services by 2050.

As Australians continue to live longer, largely due to improvements in healthcare, over 1 million extra workers will be required to care for this group.

Excelsia College is responding to this dire shortage of aged care workers and has introduced the Graduate Certificate in Aged Care and the Graduate Diploma of Aged Care. Dr Winsome Dunn is course developer and brings over 30 years social work experience, including 16 years working as a social work practitioner within the community aged care space.

Teaching within palliative care has enabled Dr Dunn to share her interest in facilitating spiritually sensitive practice, which she has explored further in her doctoral thesis titled ‘The Person Within: Exploring Spiritually Sensitive Practice in Community Aged Care’.

Excelsia students will learn not only about working with service users and their families, ensuring their rights are heard and ethically practised, but they will also be encouraged to embrace spiritually sensitive practice that encourages a compassionate person-centred approach and a philosophy of inclusion and respect for other faiths. In turn, this will help to transform practice and enrich interaction.

Learn for a rewarding career

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (2021) highlighted the lack of safe and quality care, the neglect older people faced, and the need for aged care workers who prioritise the health, wellbeing and quality of life of people receiving aged care. Excelsia College students will learn the value of compassion and care framed by a Christian worldview.

They will be provided with opportunities to integrate theory and practice to enhance their learning, update skills and meaningfully contribute to the aged care industry within residential and community aged care across Australia.

Peter McKeon, CEO of Excelsia College, explains, ‘Both the Graduate Certificate in Aged Care and the Graduate Diploma of Aged Care are taught from a Christian framework that recognises the distinctively caring and pastoral nature of aged care.

Students will learn not only practical and theoretical skills but also be able to show care, dignity and respect to older people in their care and be valuable assets to a variety of different aged care settings.’

If you have a desire to pursue a rewarding career in aged care, why not explore Excelsia College’s aged care courses?

Please contact 9819 8888 or [email protected] for more information or head to our School of Social Work page

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