With job vacancies tripling in the Health/Community Services industries on a national level and no signs of slowing, for the South Coast it’s become the leading employment sector – offering a vast range of opportunities.
What is sometimes forgotten behind the numbers are the people impacted. We asked local employers what it would mean to them and the services they offer to the local community if they could recruit more skilled health and community professionals:
“If Noah’s could recruit another Paediatric Occupational Therapist and Speech Pathologist, it would mean that we could provide much needed services for the children in our community.” Said Alice Lans CEO of Noah’s Inclusion Services.
“We have so many children waiting for services across all our regional locations and have a great opportunity to run new and exciting programs in our community. We are just waiting for more of the right people to join us!” She added.
Stacie from Activate Health and Movement tells a similar story:
“If Activate Health and Movement recruited multiple skilled Allied Health Professionals, such as a Physiotherapist, Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Psychologist to further join our team, it would mean that we would be able to expand our service offerings, increase client retention, enhance operational efficiency and continue to provide a high level of service and affordability for our clients. We could support a much greater number of clients needing Allied Health care as well as give clients freedom of choice to find options that best suit them and their needs”.
While many jobs in the sector are full time, some are fixed term contracts based on funding, which sometimes leads to uncertainty within the workforce. Senior OT at Shoalhaven Occupational Therapy – The Shoalhaven’s 2024 Business of the Year, Bronwyn, says she’s never been without work:
“I’ve worked for Health programs that have undergone multiple iterations or ended to make way for new ones, but the demands don’t change, and skilled people are still needed.”
CareSouth’s 650 strong staff are largely permanent staff (not on contract), however casual employment is still offered due to popular demand:
“We still have a considerable number of employees, particularly women, who are juggling family life and prefer the flexibility of casual employment,” said CEO Renee Knight.
CareSouth, an industry leading community-based organisation offering a large number of health and community support services started in the Shoalhaven 30 years ago and is expanding rapidly across the State.
“People often have a misconception around not for profit organisations. They might see them as struggling financially or small in size. The reality is that there are a large number of well-paying jobs that aren’t going away any time soon and our systems often need to be even more sophisticated than a regular business to meet compliance requirements.”
“There are opportunities to progress in terms of career pathways and to make a real difference to people lives,” added Renee.
The Health and Community Services Industry is now the biggest employer on the South Coast representing 15.2% of the job market, boasting some industry leading organisations and employing over 38,000 people. A vast number of career pathways and opportunities exist with 239 positions available immediately and many more on the horizon.
