Senior care education gets much needed boost

Shanghai's education authority announced a three-year plan on Thursday to boost academic education and talent cultivation in order to meet increasing demands for senior care services.

The plan lays out 10 main tasks for Shanghai between 2019 and 2022.

The first task is to encourage local schools to set up programs related to senior care service and put senior nursing and other care services, as well as related management, into the list of key specialties for government support.

It aims to set up about 10 such programs in local schools by 2021, with the capacity to cultivate 1,000 students at a time.

Mainly focusing on vocational education, the city will offer related bachelor’s and master’s degrees to cultivate talent at different levels.

It will also support education institutes and enterprises to cooperate and set up standards of related education. The courses must be developed according to real work requirements, new technologies and new industrial standards, while professional ethics will also be integrated into the curricula.

It also encourages teachers to practice or do research in elderly care organizations and industrial associations to improve related education and promote R&D in senior care services and technologies.

Qualification standard will also be worked out for teachers while training and international exchange opportunities will be provided.

It rules that teachers dedicated to senior care service education must practice at least one year in organizations providing elderly care every five years. Teachers specializing in elderly care will also enjoy advantages in their schools’ selection and honoring of outstanding staff and courses.

Schools are encouraged to hire experienced experts in the industry as part-time teachers and cooperate with organizations to build up practice centers, either on or off campus, to improve students’ hands-on ability.

They are also asked to enhance cooperation with communities to set up community-based practice centers and guide students to participate in volunteer services benefiting local seniors.

The commission will also encourage schools to join hands with the civil affairs department and service organizations in providing training and improving the quality of current senior care service providers. It asks schools to develop digital education resources and set up platforms to share such resources.

The city will also explore ways of cooperating with other places in the Yangtze River Delta and the midwest area in disciplinary construction, talent cultivation and training for teachers.

It will also intensify exchanges and cooperation with developed countries, sending out teachers and students to learn their advanced experiences and jointly developing courses and textbooks.

To achieve those goals, there are also some supporting policies.

To attract outstanding students to study senior care, schools are encouraged to introduce incentives, such as tuition waiving for those promising to work in the sector after graduation.

They are also asked to place more importance on teachers’ contributions in disciplinary construction, talent cultivation and senior care services in professional tile promotion.