Care workers in long-term care for older people: challenges of quantity and quality

This article, drawing on a qualitative study in England, the Netherlands and Taiwan, explores how countries with very different care systems address the challenge of securing sufficient numbers of care workers with appropriate skills in ageing care. The analysis exposes the salient features of care systems, ageing-care markets and the ageing-care workforce in the three countries. To support the analysis, examples of how the countries attempt to recruit and retain ageing-care workers are provided. Key findings are that to secure an adequate number of skilled ageing-care workers, job satisfaction, coherence between care and labour policies and equal working conditions across sectors are vital. A quality ageing-care worker requires regular professional supervision and support, resources for ongoing training and career development opportunities. Most importantly, securing a sufficient number of ageing-care workers and ensuring they have appropriate skills are not isolated challenges but are interlinked and require collaboration between a range of care actors.