Grow the Workforce Project: Attract, Recruit and Retain Our People
Reimagining workforce initiatives, created together, to support attraction, recruitment, and retention challenges in the coming years…
Background
This dedicated new project is in response to Recommendation 30 of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce Hear her voice: Report one – Addressing coercive control and domestic and family violence in Queensland (WSJT Report One), to attract, recruit and retain a skilled workforce to deliver domestic and family violence services.
Currently our sector is experiencing significant challenges in attracting qualified and/or suitably capable workers, particularly in regional, rural, and remote locations across Queensland.
It is estimated that sector and workforce reform activities will result in increased and changing service delivery provision of the Domestic and Family Violence, Sexual Violence and Women’s Health and Wellbeing workforce. Current forecasting anticipates the sector’s workforce will need to increase by one half of current levels to meet these demands.
What is the project?
The immediate goal of the project is to develop an evidence based, inclusive and integrated Growing and retaining a workforce for the future strategy (the Strategy) to be released in 2024 . This will inform practical and effective tailored responses to workforce issues over the next three to four years.
Implementation will align with and extend on WorkUP’s previous body of work, upscaling and extending on the Grow the Workforce priority in the Workforce Spectrum.
The project’s overall intent is to influence and further build a specialist workforce that can sustain, absorb and thrive. At a practical level this project aims to:
- Build increased rigour and capacity in tailored workforce data analytics and insights.
- Undertake research and authentic stakeholder consultation and engagement to better understand and respond effectively and with impact.
- Collaboratively design and implement innovative workforce initiatives to:
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- Strengthen connection between Industry and Higher Education, with a focus on student placements, graduate positions and targeted career promotions for increased visibility and influence.
- Strengthen connection between Industry and Vocational Education & Training (VET), with a focus on skill development and recognised prior learning (RPL) for both attracting entry roles and for retaining experienced workers.
- Explore better integration of apprenticeship and traineeship employer and employee incentives where appropriate.
- Create career promotions campaigns and related communication resources.
- Support and enable greater accessible training pathways for prioritised entry roles, contextualised to need and place.
- Retention activities to support change management and strategic health and wellbeing strategies.
Download the information flyer to learn more.
How to get involved
For the project to produce something genuinely useful for the sector, we need to continue to work closely and build on our positive relationships with sector stakeholders.
`Every conversation is part of the story’… so there will be flexible and easy ways to link in and contribute as the project develops.
For now, please consider being part of an industry wide working group to help guide and influence the direction. Please email John@healingfoundation.org.au to find out more.
Stay tuned for further opportunities to provide input and contribute.
For further information or to request a chat, reach out to John: John@healingfoundation.org.au
Opportunities and Resources
WorkUP Queensland is working closely with Universities, the Vocational Education and Training Sector and Traineeship and Employment Services to create links and connections across the system to support attraction, recruitment and pathways in the sector.
This section will continue to build over time to include more links to relevant and up to date information.
Mas National – Australian Apprenticeship Support Network
Support employers to access funding through the apprenticeship and traineeship system, ongoing support and mentoring.