The government will not realise its goal of having six million professionally trained aged care workers by 2020, says Gao Huajun 高华俊 Beijing Normal University China Philanthropy Research Institute vice director.
Aged care professional training is primarily conducted by two systems: vocational and junior vacation education, and professional qualification certification, according to Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA). Both are highly fragmented. The availability of aged care workers also varies considerably across regions, with Shanghai having one worker for every five institutionalised elderly persons and Sichuan having one for every 36, says MCA. Both fall below the international standard of one worker for six elderly persons, it says.
In training aged care professionals, China can learn from Japan’s experience, says Caixin. Japan granted aged care workers professional status as early as 1987, while setting up comprehensive training and certification systems. Its training curriculum is drafted by the government and carried out by certified education institutions, the report adds. A large number of high-quality private institutions emerged as a result of market competition, boosting the industry’s overall service level, it says.
China can also borrow from Germany’s multi-level aged care worker certification system, the report says, in addition to encouraging family members and social volunteers to take on the task.