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Fourth Sector Thinking Edition 2 Nov 2012 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND THE FOURTH SECTOR Workforce Development is the buzz term of the moment but does anyone really know what it is? Largely considered professional development or training there is an increasing willingness to recognise workforce development as much more. Way back in 2007 NCOSS described workforce development in the context of the ‘non-government community sector in NSW’ to be about a ‘combination of managing the size and composition of the workforce, retaining and managing that workforce and skilling that workforce’. The National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF) represents a $700million Federal government commitment over five years to support “training and workforce development in areas of current and future skills needs”. Industry Skills Councils play an integral role in administering the NWDF program and the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council will be running a series of workshops about workforce development in coming months. (Port Macquarie 28 November). To find out more and register for the free workshops please visit the CS&HISC website and search for Free workforce development Workshops or click on the link below https://www.cshisc.com.au/index.php?option=com_c ontent&task=view&id=1093&Itemid=1061 Organisations can also contact Renee Hawkins, Local Employment Coordinator in the Mid North Coast for DEEWR via Renee.Hawkins@deewr.gov.au or mobile 0402 507 697 or Don Mackenzie, Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Coordinator MNC and Northern Rivers on 0432 750 786 VISIT US ONLINE to find out more and join the conversation www.evolvenetwork.com.au
DOES WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MATTER IN THE FOURTH SECTOR? The third and fourth sectors work with some of the most disadvantaged members of our society and with rising living costs in Australia and an ageing population the demand for services is increasing. Scratch the surface and the stories are often harrowing. I spoke with a local community worker and financial counsellor who told me she is seeing more people than ever before, many of whom have never before presented to welfare services, particularly older generations. And with such pressing issues amongst client groups to consider it’s easy to understand why community services don’t have the time to look at the factors which are impacting upon their workforce. But that doesn’t mean the factors aren’t important – in fact critical. CS&HISC identifies the upcoming industry challenges to include: Continued shift towards service delivery within community settings including prevention, early intervention and recovery based services Continued shift towards consumer directed and person centred planning and service delivery Need to build and sustain leadership, workforce planning and change capacity Increased use of roles across the spectrum including assistant and advanced practitioner roles Maximise the impact of innovative workforce strategies in regional, rural and remote settings Increased use of technology in service delivery and workforce development Growth of the health and community services workforce Need to improve quality and consistency in delivery of vocational qualifications To see how this contextualises to the industry’s workforce check out this YouTube clip http://youtu.be/UVtHfM2322E
Contact Evolve Network Australia www.evolvenetwork.com.au hello@evolvenetwork.com.au