Partnering is crucial if we are to meet the aged care challenges now and in the future. By working together, we can overcome resource constraints and harness the potential of technology to achieve better outcomes for seniors and their families as well as the care workers.

We get there is no silver bullet for the aged care workforce challenge - so let’s at least focus on what will make a difference. Digital training is a logical place to get started.

Find out more about the impact of the Community Options Australia Wellbeing in Aged Care - Digital Skills program. The Wellbeing in Aged Care program provides person-centred mental health support to eligible residents in Western Sydney. YourLink is the digital inclusion partner for the program.

Paving a better path forward for the aged care sector and those it serves has never been more vital. But for organisations looking to transform the way they operate not just to compete but truly innovate, there’s no silver bullet… or is there?

Investing in building digital capability in your staff & volunteers fosters an environment where people feel supported not just to meet the demands of their role but to thrive.

Let’s talk about why YourLink chose digital confidence to describe the impact we have with those we train with digital skills. We share a couple of examples of what digital confidence looks like for seniors, carers and care workers across Australia.

By meeting people where they are with their digital skills, you embed digital confidence that enables them to adapt and embrace technology. This will unlock the benefits for your customers and organisation and allow care staff to focus on high-value activities.

A recent article about whether video calls should remain in aged care when lockdowns are over made us stop and think. In the general community we haven’t removed video calls, so why should they be removed from the lives of aged care residents?

Digital skills assist people to overcome social isolation and provide independence. Living remotely or caring for a loved one can make it practically impossible to attend any kind of in-person training which is why virtual training needs to stay.

For each new digital process we design or new service we make available online, we need our end user to actually ‘use’ it for the return on investment to be achieved. The foundation for this is digital confidence.

There is an urgent need for digital capabilities and skills for the care workforce needed to maintain some level of continuous service for their aged care clients.

Through our work with seniors, carers and care workers, we have seen hundreds of examples of how the use of smart devices is having a positive impact on those living with Dementia and those caring for them. We’ve shared three stories in this article.

The effective adoption of technology requires a baseline of skills - here’s how we take workforces and clients from ‘zero to one’

The research highlights that the digital divide is still a significant issue in modern Australia, particularly with the rapid pace of digitisation brought forward by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fear of technology is a common theme for many and a reason why their digital journey has not started or has perhaps been abandoned. We share the extraordinary experiences of the Carers we work with when their digital journey begins.

With all the best intentions, many of us can miss the mark when trying to help others, particularly seniors, to improve their digital literacy skills. In our training sessions with care workers, carers and seniors we use a four point “Think like a Coach” framework.

With the focus on the aged care workforce, it’s time to think about ‘how’ the workforce will learn, and continue to upskill. We believe Virtual Reality (VR) as a training tool has an exciting and untapped potential for the sector.

In our latest article we explore the role of ‘Digital coach’ and the benefits of these skills for the organisation, the seniors in it’s care and for the care worker themselves.

Seniors are missing out on access to online banking, public safety alerts and essential government services because they don’t know how to use the latest digital media platforms. With COVID-19 driving so many services exclusively online, we surveyed our clients to find out which services seniors were least able to access digitally.

In an industry where so much personal purpose can be gained from working with seniors, how can we attract and retain much needed care workers?