AS part of the city’s plan to attract more people into the elderly care industry, qualified carers in Hongkou District can now apply for up to 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) in government assistance.

Hongkou has become the first district to cash in on city government incentives to attract workers to what is a largely unpopular career.

Demand for elderly care in the district is high — about 30 percent of residents are elderly, one of the highest proportions in the downtown area, a local official told Shanghai Daily yesterday.

Only frontline nursing staff, not administrators or other officials, can apply for the grant.

Applicants must have worked in local institutions for as least a year to qualify.

The grants are divided into three categories: a worker with a bachelor’s or higher degree can get 20,000 yuan over three years; a junior college graduate 10,000 and someone with a diploma from a secondary technical school qualifies for 5,000 yuan.

The number of people aged 60 or more in the city is expected to pass 5.4 million by 2020 — more than 36 percent of the population. Shanghai has an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 elderly care workers and plans to add another 78,000 by 2020.