Foreign carers of elderly people to require skills card, minister says
Foreign carers who are employed to look after elderly people will soon require a skills card to work in the sector, the Active Aging Minister, Jo Etienne Abela, said on Friday.
This would improve the level of the workers and cut down on ‘bureaucracy’ in the way that they are employed, he told the media during a Government activity.
“The engagement of carers will be at the centre of our operations this year”, irrespective of their nationality, he said.
“We will be using the model of the skills card. We are going to create a parallel system that will see to every condition and measure, such as language and skills.”
The skills card requirement was originally intended to be introduced in January, but it has been postponed to March.
Earlier, Abela said that elderly people who make use of the Carer at Home scheme will benefit from an increase of €1,000 per year.
The €8 million will be allocated to the Carer at Home Scheme, having been increased from €5 million. The measure was announced in the Budget 2024.
The Minister said that as from the beginning of the year, the scheme’s benefit has increased from €7,000 to €8,000 per year for the elderly who employ a carer of their choice to assist them in their daily needs. He added that the benefit is given pro rata for those who hire a carer for less than 40 hours weekly.
He said that there are currently 865 elderly people making use of and benefitting from this scheme, with 845 of them using it on a full-time basis where they employ a carer for 40 hours a week, and 20 of them employing a carer for less than 40 hours a week. He continued that around 1,635 people have benefitted from this scheme so far since it began operating in the year 2016.
Minister Abela said that through this scheme, “the Government is helping the elderly to continue to live and form part of the community by having all the necessary help.” He added that the increase in the financial allocation for this scheme, “continues to show that the Government is committed to continue investing in improving the quality of life of our elderly.”
Those interested in further information as regarding this scheme, or for the application, can visit the website : aacc.gov.mt or one of the servizz.gov.mt branches. The Local Councils or the Senior Service Center ( Ċentru Servizz Anzjan) in Malta or Gozo can also help by providing assistance in completing and submitting the application.
Labour Ministers agreeing with