Workforce Development Kit - Community Services & Health Industry ...

National Workforce DevelopmentFund Case StudiesUpskilling for mental health in aged care - A consortium approachThe National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF)provides scope for consortium applications which arebased on a region or sector coming together to respondto an identified challenge or need. Morshead Home inCanberra, ACT developed a project that brings togetherAged Care workers from across four services in theACT/NSW region. Through a strong regional networkand a good relationship with a training provider, theseservices were successful in receiving NWDF fundingfor Certificate IV in Mental Health. This group identifiedMental Health as a growing issue among their residentsand are up-skilling in order to continue to provide qualitycare.Morshead Home has acted as the Lead Organisationon the consortium application, with the other servicesidentified as Participating Employers. The employersworked together to develop the application andsubmitted it along with evidence of enterprise levelworkforce planning and regional networking. Theproject application provided a clear rationale for thedifferent types of work performed by the carers, and thebenefits that Mental Health training would have as theyexperienced higher numbers of mental illness diagnosisparticularly around dementia.This NWDF project is a good example of how a groupof services with similar needs have come together toimprove their skills and knowledge and form a regionalresponse to the challenges they face in the workplace.Key to their success is the ongoing support the learnershave from their managers, as well as the relationshipbetween the employers and the training provider toensure industry specific content and contextualisedtraining.Upgrading skills for workforce and training providersIntegratedLiving is a rural community managedbusiness providing services in aged care and disabilityacross Queensland, NSW and Victoria. IntegratedLivingreceived NWDF funding for a variety of qualificationsand skill sets including Home and Community Care,Disability Services, Community Sector Managementand Medical Assistance.IntegratedLiving wanted a holistic approach towardssustainable growth of their organisation, incorporatingup-skilling of existing workers to improve retention,training to support new job roles, and training anddevelopment of trainers and assessors with acommunity services background to support growth andlearning in the training industry. By linking their specificchallenges in a workforce plan, IntegratedLiving wassuccessful in receiving funding under the NationalWorkforce Development Fund.By identifying workforce capacity and needs on anorganisation-wide scale, IntegratedLiving has ensuredthat a culture of learning is supported and sustainableoutcomes achieved. IntegratedLiving has workedclosely with their RTO to provide opportunities for theirworkforce to complete qualifications and continuingprofessional development relevant to their sector andexperience. By up-skilling the trainers and assessors inindustry specific qualifications and skill sets, the projecthas also given the RTO the opportunity to provide morecontextualised training, assessment and continuingprofessional development with good practice outcomes.Boarding Australia - contextualising training in the bushGeographic isolation, challenging climate conditionsand intensive client care are just some of the issuesfacing remote student accommodation workersthroughout rural Australia. It is a workforce that fliesunder the radar yet provides significant support toyoung people during their schooling away from home.Boarding Australia has recognised that formalqualifications would promote a uniform standardwithin the workforce and recognise the existing skillsand knowledge of workers. Using funding throughthe National Workforce Development Fund, BoardingAustralia are able to provide formal qualifications totheir existing workforce. As there is no existing specificqualification relating to student accommodation,Boarding Australia has engaged experienced trainerassessors from the sector to contextualise theCertificate IV in Community Services Work. Usingyouth based elective units and learning materialswith relevance to the student accommodation sector,Boarding Australia is training 45 learners in fourstates and territories. The flexibility provided bythe trainers is important due to the difference inlegislation such as mandatory reporting laws whichexist across each jurisdiction.CS&HISC Workforce Development Kit 13