Person-centred qualifications: vocational education and training for the aged care and disability services sectors in Australia

ABSTRACT In Australia and elsewhere, aged care and disability services are being transformed by the introduction of person-centred approaches. This radical reform to prioritise the dignity and needs of the people receiving care or support is an urgent matter of justice. Person-centred approaches are also transforming the organisation and conditions of employment for direct care workers, which has implications for the vocational education and training (VET) qualifications designed as preparation for their jobs. COVID-19 has highlighted problems with casualised employment and inadequate training, revealing the terrible impact on the elderly and people with disabilities. The broader context is a shift to market-based approaches to service delivery, with the increasing commodification of care, support services and VET. Drawing on a study of Australian VET qualifications for aged care and disability services, this article identifies limitations with dominant transactional forms of VET and the foundational ideas that underpin them. It argues that the introduction of transactional qualifications to prepare workers for poorly designed transactional jobs has a severe human cost.