PRESS RELEASE: Stronger, more strategic voice for vocational education and training for health and human services

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) has welcomed the announcement from the Federal Minister for Skills and Training, The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, on the establishment of the Jobs and Skills Council. The Council leading and driving the performance of the national Vocational Education and Training (VET) system for the health and human services, early education and sport and recreation sectors, will be known as HumanAbility.

AHHA has been announced as the successful lead applicant on a consortium that will establish HumanAbility.

‘This Jobs and Skills Council creates a genuine and collaborative tripartite membership reaching across organisations of all sizes and types, where we can draw on strategic workforce, educational and learner perspectives,’ says AHHA Chief Executive Kylie Woolcock.

‘Together, we will ensure training is aligned to the skills that are in demand and meets industry need in a timely manner.’

‘Matching and forecasting the needs, demands and supply of the health workforce is complex in any context. And we need to be thinking of the workforce broadly, not just the health professionals, but the whole of the workforce that supports the sector.

‘The footprint of this Jobs and Skills Council reaches every corner of the country. While workforce shortages are being experienced globally, they are felt even more in rural and regional parts of Australia. Ensuring the VET system reflects the geographical variation in need will be crucial.

‘HumanAbility recognises the commonality of skills and workforce challenges facing the health and human services, early education and sport and recreation sectors. All are focused on the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

‘The key will be flexibility. Communities will benefit from skills that can be adapted as industries evolve. There will be capacity and mechanisms in place to share learnings and explore replication and extension across multiple industry sectors.

‘With responsibilities encompassing workforce planning, acting as a source of intelligence on issues affecting the industry, and ensuring training meets employer needs, we look forward to collaborating across the sectors to ensure we develop the workforce that the health sector needs, now and into the future.’

The HumanAbility consortium thanks SkillsIQ for the support and advice provided during the tender process and looks forward to working with them on future projects.

The online version of this media release can be found on the AHHA website: https://ahha.asn.au/news/stronger-more-strategic-voice-vocational-education-and-training-health-and-human-services