New guide will help ECEC employers get the most out of vocational training

The Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO) has released a new guide to help employers in early childhood education and care, health, and human services to get the most out of vocational education and training (VET) to build skills in their workforce.

 

Designed to help bridge the gap between employers and registered training organisations so they can both get the most out of their professional relationship, the guide addresses outcomes from multiple reviews into the human services sector that have identified a lack of communication, consultation, information and data sharing between registered training organisations and industry as key obstacles to developing quality training for the sector.

 

“The human services workforce is one of the fastest growing sectors in Australia, and one of our most critical,” HSSO CEO Jodi Schmidt said.

 

“We need vocational education and training to play a stronger role in building our workforce to ensure we can meet the escalating demand for these services.”

 

The VET system, she said, is widely acknowledged as complex, with employers in the system wanting to engage with the VET sector and support improvement, but not always knowing where to start or how to help. 

 

“Our hope is this guide provides that clarity.”

 

The resource has been designed through consultation with employers in the human services sector. Because of this, Ms Schmidt continued, it’s also useful for training organisations who specialise in the sector, to get a deeper understanding of what the human services industry is looking for.

 

HSSO Head of Strategy, Policy, and Research Amanda Thomas said workforce development in the sector was hard enough without having to navigate the training sector.

 

“There are already enough market and workforce challenges. Our sector’s employers need simple information to implement what should be a simple solution. That’s why we’ve designed this guide.”

 

As well as practical, easy to understand information about the VET system the guide also includes advice on how to build more effective relationships with training providers, and contains best practice case studies, tools, and other resources.

 

To access the guide and for more information please see here.