CEOs advocate for skills upgrade for care future as 20+ Village Managers invest in their careers with 1,000+ Professional Development Points

18 CEOs and Executive GMs gave their time to support over 500 Village Managers across our national VILLAGE SUMMIT program over the past three weeks, acknowledging that their business success is anchored in the skills and performance of their Village Managers. 

They confirmed that retirement villages are now firmly anchored in the care pathway and can no longer be described as a lifestyle purchase. The average age across the country for village residents is 81; the average age of death in Australia is 83. 

The new village buyer is aged 76 and there is an increasing expectation that the village will provide a care concierge service – guidance and support in accessing home care, allied health, social and emotional services. 

A care concierge was an unknown concept just three years ago. 

At the same time, when nearly 9,000 new aged care beds need to be built every year to match the forward demand expectation, just a net 1,550 new beds were delivered in 2022. All aged care beds are now approaching full capacity, especially with beds being taken offline because of lack of Registered Nurses. 

The 18 CEOs and GMs at the VILLAGE SUMMIT acknowledged that many village residents will not be moved to aged care beds because few will be available. This means village management will increasingly be engaged in care support and coordinating care support staff and services. 

This will require expanded professional skillsets to match this expanded business complexity. 

Five years ago, we established the DCM Institute to support village management professional development. Today, we have 550 Village Managers in our 12-month rolling program. 

The calibre and commitment of these executives is exceptional. In this round of VILLAGE SUMMITS, we awarded over 20 DCMI members with 1,000 professional development point trophies. The average participant achieves 300 points in one year. 

It is vital for the retirement living sector to invest in village management talent and skill sets, to ensure each village business is prepared for the rapidly changing customer, business and care environment. 

There will be a logjam of village residents with dementia and high acuity, and this will have to be professionally managed. 

As the 18 CEOs and GM’s identified, now is the time to act on professional development. 

Check out what the DCM Institute offers: https://thedcminstitute.com.au/.