23 NovHumanAbility national forum
This week, ELAA attended HumanAbility’s inaugural National Forum in Canberra. The forum gathered representatives from the Health, Sports and Recreation; Children’s Education and Care; and Aged, Disability, and Community Services sectors.
The forum included an impressive line-up of keynote speakers, including Dr Angela Jackson from Impact Economics and Policy. Dr Jackson outlined the economic pressures faced by the relevant sectors and profiled the unique challenges that associated workforces experience, from both a gendered and remuneration perspective.
This set the scene for the forum, as sector expert panels began answering questions from the audience and discussed existing strategies to relieve workforce pressures. Despite the differences between each sector, the first day revealed how similar our workforce challenges are. The health, care and support sectors are highly feminised and must double their workforce by 2040.
As one of ten new Jobs and Skills Councils, HumanAbility’s key functions are:
- workforce planning
- training product development
- implementation, promotion and monitoring
- industry stewardship
- stakeholder engagement.
HumanAbility’s first Workforce Plan will be released in March 2024 and informed by existing data and stakeholder input from the Industry Advisory Committees (IAC). ELAA’s Policy and Stakeholder Relations Specialist is a member of the relevant IAC for Children’s Education and Care.
Following day one, the forum’s attendees heard from Australian journalist and author, Stan Grant. Stan discussed the importance of not losing the love that is inherent to our sector’s work and the critical role of silence and listening following the result of Australia’s referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The final day of the forum consisted of interactive sessions that fostered collaboration between attendees and provided valuable insights to assist with HumanAbility’s workforce planning.
It was wonderful to see themes of cross-sector collaboration, considered approaches to skills and training, place-based learning, and innovative ways to improve workforce conditions. ELAA enjoyed talking to a range of stakeholders, including regulators, fellow peak bodies, TAFEs and RTOs, service providers, unions and allied health providers. There is value in a systemic approach to addressing workforce issues and structuring initiatives that work across multiple sectors.
ELAA will continue to work with HumanAbility to ensure the Early Childhood Education and Care sector is championed and valued as a profession that delivers both economic and social benefits to Australia.
