Ideas flowed and collaboration flourished at HumanAbility’s first Melbourne Forum and CEO Roundtable.
Around 140 people from Victoria’s care, support and recreation industries gathered on Wurundjeri land under clear autumn skies to share experiences and potential solutions to the workforce challenges each sector is facing as demand for their services continues to grow.
Following a Welcome to Country from Wurundjeri Man, Colin Hunter Junior Junior, Victoria’s Minister for Skills and TAFE, Gayle Tierney delivered the keynote address.
Minister Tierney acknowledged the critical role those who work in our sectors have in our community and spoke about the Victorian government’s investments in TAFE. The Minister also emphasised the importance of the partnerships between the state government, the federal government, the Victorian Skills Authority, HumanAbility and other Jobs & Skills Councils.
Forum participants representing peak bodies, employers, unions and educators broke into 5 sector-based workshops to discuss recruitment trends and drivers, workforce development hurdles and training system effectiveness. Importantly, the workshops also sought to highlight those practices that are working well to address workforce needs.
Some of the common themes to emerge from these workshops included:
- the challenges students face undertaking unpaid placements to complete training.
- the need to address high turnover by improving workplace culture, employment conditions, mentorships and opportunities for upskilling and career progression.
- actively and positively promoting the sector with a focus on role recognition and job requirements.
20 industry leaders from across our sectors joined HumanAbility’s CEO, Emma King at the CEO Roundtable. They were joined by Impact Economics’ Lead Economist, Angela Jackson for a strategic discussion to unpack the pressures on the sector and how they affect workforce development.
Through an economic, policy and regulatory lens, the conversations highlighted the most important workforce attraction and retention challenges for our CEOs, much of which are driven by employment conditions, poor sector perceptions and competition for training staff.
Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to share their expertise and passion for our sectors as we all work to shape the future workforce.
HumanAbility is also grateful to Victoria’s Minister for Skills and TAFE, Gayle Tierney MP for delivering the keynote address, emphasising the value of the care, support and recreation industries in Victorian communities.
