ARE BAD JOBS INEVITABLE? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AGED-CARE OCCUPATIONS AND TRAINING

2017

As the population ages globally, the care of older adults with chronic disease and physical and cognitive impairment will require a significantly larger and more skilled direct care workforce than currently exists. Many countries have migration policies to encourage workers to leave home and perform this important work. Others relegate the majority of the labor to vulnerable populations including women of color and immigrants. Do these jobs have to be “bad jobs” with poor compensation, few benefits and heavy workloads? This study comparatively examines the demographic composition and extrinsic characteristics of entry-level aged care jobs in select countries: U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, A…