Canada doesn’t have a national workforce strategy for the care economy

Society could consider it a problem because a national workforce strategy for the care economy would provide a framework for addressing issues related to the workforce in this sector, such as recruitment and retention, training and professional development, and fair compensation. Without a national strategy, addressing these issues may be left to individual provinces and territories, resulting in inconsistent approaches and potential disparities in the quality and availability of care across the country. The main workers in this economy are women and since the pandemic, women in the care economy are retiring at a fast pace. What is being done to replace them?

There are a few potential strategies that could be implemented to address ageing and retiring workers in the care economy, particularly women:

Recruitment and retention. Efforts could be made to attract new workers to the care economy, such as offering competitive pay and benefits and creating opportunities for professional development and advancement. We could implement retention strategies to reduce turnover and keep experienced workers in the field.

Training and education: Investing in training and education programs for current and future care workers can help ensure that the workforce has the skills and knowledge to provide high-quality care.

Encourage men and youth to join the care economy workforce. Although men traditionally considered the care economy a female-dominated field encouraging men and youth to join the field, can help to diversify the workforce.

Increase the compensation, Care economy jobs are often low-paid and hard work, increasing the compensation can help attract and keep workers,

Automation: Investing in technology and automation solutions in the care economy to help ease some of the workloads on care workers and provide more efficient care.

It’s important to note that a comprehensive approach that addresses multiple factors is likely to be most effective in addressing aging and retiring workers in the care economy