Brisbane, January 13 (MCCQ Newsdesk)
Queensland Alliance for Mental Health (QAMH) Project Officer Jun Song recently met with Youn Sun Hee, Secretary General of the Korea Association of Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centers, during his visit to South Korea. The meeting focused on workforce development issues and potential collaboration between the two organizations.
Youn Sun Hee expressed keen interest in connecting with QAMH and exploring opportunities for networking, including participation in future events and possibly establishing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two organizations.
The discussion highlighted the challenges faced by community mental health organizations in South Korea, particularly around the recruitment of trained mental health professionals. Social workers, psychologists, nurses, and occupational therapists are critical to their organizations, but difficulties in filling these positions persist despite stringent qualification requirements. For example, social workers must complete extensive training before qualifying for advanced roles, but many organizations struggle to meet these staffing demands due to insufficient government funding.
Jun Song learned that the mental health workforce in South Korea, although highly educated, often faces wage disparities and lacks benefits like salary sacrifice options, which are available in Australia. Many trained professionals are transitioning to public sector roles due to these challenges.
Discussions also covered the proposed introduction of a Level 3 mental health social worker qualification to address the growing demand for services. Community welfare and disability organizations are increasingly expanding into the community mental health space to meet these needs.
This insightful visit is expected to inform QAMH’s ongoing work in workforce development, as Jun looks forward to integrating the valuable knowledge gained into QAMH’s future initiatives.
