Collaborative workforce development in aged care

This case study describes the Tasmanian Workforce Innovation Network. The network brings together employers, training providers and job service providers to explore opportunities for building capacity and capability of the aged care workforce.

Key insights include:

• The different members of the Network contribute to building capacity and growing understanding about each member’s strength, needs, and ways in which they can collaborate and support the development, employment and retention of highly skilled aged care workers.
• Integral to the Network’s success has been dedicated staff from Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) staff allocated to managing the Network and its programs, rather than relying on volunteers from member organisations.
• In addition to co-developing training with RTOs, employers learn from guest speakers and being able to network with other employers.
• The Network develops programs to address workforce and training challenges, and then uses a selection process to locate the most suitable RTOs to deliver.
• The Network facilitates relationships between stakeholders, explicitly communicating stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities at the start. This helps establish good foundations for individual employers and RTOs to continue to develop their relationships.