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Workforce Coordination Project

The Workforce Coordination project is a whole-of-industry response to: 

  • A projected shortage of 4,000 jobs within the community services industry by 2024; and
  • The need to ensure that the industry has the skilled and diverse workforce necessary for the delivery of flexible and responsive services that achieve positive client outcomes. 

The Workforce Coordination project is the first project to be funded under the Tasmanian Community Services Industry Plan (2021-31) (Industry Plan). The Industry Plan is for governments, peak bodies and community services organisations. It provides an overarching framework to guide strategic industry development and transition planning. Its vision is to create a connected community services industry that supports all Tasmanians to live a good life and enriches our state’s social, cultural and economic wellbeing.  

Overall, the Industry Plan contains three strategic priorities: 

  • Strategic Priority 1: Local Solutions for Tasmanians
  • Strategic Priority 2: Workforce Development and Training
  • Strategic Priority 3: Leading for Impact

The Workforce Coordination project sits under Strategic Priority 2 of the Industry Plan: Workforce Development and Training.

The Workforce Coordination project aims to achieve the following outcomes: 

  • Increased coordination and identification of strategies for addressing workforce issues at an industry level. 
  • Improved coordination, relationships, collaboration and partnerships to address workforce issues. 
  • Improved coordination of research activity and data collection. 
  • Enhanced ability to provide advice on industry training and career pathway needs. 
  • Enhanced awareness and recruitment initiatives to attract new talent and reduce barriers to employment in the sectors/industry. 
  • Improved capacity for delivering training and assessment in the industry. 

To learn more about the Workforce Coordination project, click on the breakout boxes below. 

To register to receive regular updates about the Industry Plan, the Workforce Coordination Project and activities of the Workforce Coalition Network, please fill out the form here.

The Workforce Coordination project is funded by the Department of State Growth and is administered by Skills Tasmania. The project is delivered in partnership, with TasCOSS on behalf of the social services sector peak bodies and the Tasmanian peak bodies of ACCPA, NDS, ECA Tasmania Branch (contracted to Lady Gowrie Tasmania). The project owner is TasCOSS and the governing body is the Workforce Coalition.

The role of the Workforce Coalition (the Coalition) is to position Tasmania as a national leader in thinking and best practice in strategic workforce planning and to deliver industry-led workforce projects.

The Workforce Coalition meetings are held quarterly. The Coalition is responsible for:

  • Developing and implementing identified and funded projects under the Workforce Development and Training priority area of the Industry Plan.
  • Informing and endorsing project plans/action plans for each project.
  • Delegating a program of actions to the Workforce Coordination Project Manager and the Workforce Ready Team.
  • Providing guidance, support and advice to the Workforce Coordination Project Manager and the Workforce Ready Team.
  • Assisting the project when required to resolve conflicts, issues and risks.
  • Monitoring and reviewing progress against agreed parameters and contractual obligations.
  • Reporting and providing advice to the Industry Development Steering Committee.
  • Ensuring the projects are industry-led and that engagement occurs with relevant stakeholders at all levels.
  • Convening a broad Workforce Coalition Network meeting twice a year.

The Workforce Coalition comprises the following members:

Chairs (2 chairs):

  • Lee Veitch – Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO)
  • Brenton West – Anglicare Tasmania

Appointed members (3 members):

  • Monique Parsons – Skills Tasmania
  • Ingrid Ganley or Tricia Males – Department of Premier and Cabinet
  • Claudia Butler – Workforce Coordination Project Manager (ex-officio)

Peak bodies that employ a Workforce Ready Team member (3 members):

  • Cathy Beswick – Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) Tasmania
  • Annette Barwick – Early Childhood Australia (ECA) (Tasmania Branch)
  • Lizzie Castles – National Disability Services (NDS) Tasmania

Social services peak body representation (2 members):

  • CEO (to be confirmed) – Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania (NHT)
  • Ali Lai – Alcohol Tobacco and other Drugs Council (ATDC) Tasmania

Strategic workforce planning specialist (1 member):

  • Karen Doak – Multicap Tasmania

Strategic training and development specialist (1 member):

  • Alice Carroll – Community Based Support (CBS) Tasmania

Education provider (tertiary/VET) (2 members):

  • Nita O’Callaghan – University of Tasmania
  • Danielle Morgan – TasTAFE

Workforce representation (1 member):

  • Robbie Moore – Health & Community Services Union (HACSU) Tasmania

Service user representation (1 member):

  • Lisa Free – Council on the Ageing (COTA) Tasmania

Secretariat:

  • Workforce Coordination Project Manager, TasCOSS
  • Skills Tasmania

The Workforce Coalition helps govern the workforce project and project team (Workforce Ready Team). The Workforce Ready Team work closely with the peak bodies across the industry to ensure that the strategies and activities of the Workforce Coordination project are integrated with existing and ongoing workforce planning and development strategies and activities within the sectors. Some Workforce Ready Team members are based with and employed by peak bodies.

For this project, the sectors have been clustered as follows:

  • Aged care services.
  • Disability services.
  • Education and care (childcare).
  • Social services (includes mental health services, housing and homelessness services, alcohol, tobacco and other drug services, youth services, Aboriginal services, Neighbourhood Houses, and family and children services).

The Workforce Ready Team are instrumental in identifying how the Workforce Coordination project can add value and capacity to the individual sectors within the community services industry and to the industry as a whole. The team identify, prioritise, pursue and promote shared interests within the industry and add capacity and value to developing the sector workforce. It is not intended to replace sector-specific workforce roles and activities. Sector-specific workforce planning capacity is critical for this whole-of-industry project to succeed. The intention is for sector-specific and whole-of-industry strategies and activities to enhance each other and achieve a cumulative beneficial effect, essential to meeting the workforce challenges of the industry.

Workforce Ready Team members:

Aged care services:

Disability services:

Education and care (childcare):

Social services:

The Workforce Coalition convenes a broad Workforce Coalition Network meeting twice a year. These meetings are an open invitation to all stakeholders who are responsible for attracting, recruiting, training and retaining staff in the community services industry.

Aged care, education and care, disability and social services providers face significant workforce challenges. Join the Workforce Coalition Network to be part of the solution and to address workforce challenges collectively.

The Workforce Coalition Network’s objective is to ensure the Workforce Coalition project is industry-led and that engagement occurs with relevant stakeholders at all levels. The Workforce Coalition Network meetings aim to build and share knowledge as well as to inform decision-making. Together we will be stronger in influencing change, developing solutions, lifting our profile, building capacity and capabilities.

Our inaugural meeting was held in November 2022 in Launceston. You can also download the program and the meeting notes from the November meeting.

The second meeting was held on 28 March in Glenorchy. You can download the meeting notes and watch a attendee feedback video.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 28 September 2023 in Northern Tasmania and will focus on staff retention.

Registrations for the September 2023 meeting will open in July.

To register to receive regular updates about the Community Services Industry Plan, the Workforce Coordination Project and activities of the Workforce Coalition Network, please click here.