Wanted: 11,000 elder care workers by 2020

By 2020, Singapore will need almost four times the number of people to work in the elder care sector than it now has, revealed Dr Amy Khor, who has been tasked with getting those workers. — PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent

By 2020, Singapore will need almost four times the number of people to work in the elder care sector than it now has, revealed Dr Amy Khor, who has been tasked with getting those workers.

That means recruiting 11,000 more workers in all categories – from doctors and nurses to therapists and health-care attendants – over the next eight years, she said. The figure that has been made public for the first time underscores the unenviable task Dr Khor has ahead of her.

Today, this sector employs only about 4,000 people. With the rapidly ageing population, the need for many more caregivers will shoot up.

But the problem is attracting enough people to join the sector, which is seen as being of low status, with jobs that are not well-paid, said Dr Khor.