Findings from the sector

The Human Services Workforce Forums were designed as an opportunity to bring employers and training organisations together to identify their most crucial pain points and workforce challenges.

Since the 1990s the human services sector has been the single biggest contributor to Australian labour growth. Our ageing population and commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme will see the sector grow at almost double the rate of any other industry with an additional 250,000 jobs needed to meet the escalating demand for these services by 2025.

The HSSO mandate is to find sector solutions to attracting and skilling a pipeline of potential employees to meet the needs of the nation’s employers as and when they need it. Effective and future-oriented workforce development strategies, and increased industry engagement, are critical to building a skilled workforce that can meet future challenges.

In 2021 we coordinated workforce forums to hear from industry. Almost 500 people attended the workforce forums nationally, representing employers, sector peak bodies and registered training organisations.

These forums gave industry the opportunity to talk openly about workforce concerns, shining a light on the real issues and helping us collectively identify where we can effectively make our start. The discussions unearthed nuanced complexities of a sector under pressure from long term and dynamic conditions.

From the changing nature of individuals, and their demand for more personalised care and support, through to the shifting market forces of an aging population, the need for growing digital literacy, and the inherent challenges for a sector looking to redefine its employee value proposition, the Human Service sector is steeped in workforce development challenges. Layered over the top has been the rolling impact of COVID-19.

Qualitative analysis of the forums revealed seven main areas of concern for employers which included

1. recruitment,
2. working conditions,
3. employee value proposition,
4. workforce pipeline,
5. ongoing training and development,
6. career pathways and
7. new worker training initiatives.

This report provides an overview of the key themes emerging from these discussions around specific and systemic issues, as well as the business environment for human services providers and training organisations. An opportunity also exists for you to use this report to inform your organisation’s next steps.

Download the report