We need to increase the number of new workers entering the family violence and sexual assault sector. This is so we can close the gap between supply and demand for workers.
The first RAP recognised this issue. It set out several actions targeted at attraction and recruitment. The second RAP will continue and build on this work.
Growing better options for early career workers
New actions will complement existing efforts to attract people to the sector.
The first action will provide recruitment incentives to services to address immediate vacancies. It will also develop tailored approaches to attraction. We will review the data from the Family Violence Jobs Portal to determine trends in vacancies by region and role.
The second action seeks to raise awareness of community services as a future career option for young people, recognising that many young people at secondary school have not decided what field to pursue for their career or do not see the potential careers available to them.
Pathways to working with perpetrators
We lack skilled practitioners who can work with perpetrators to change their use of violence.
This work is complex and specialised. It requires experienced and supported practitioners and is generally not suitable for new graduates.
However, we can attract new workers retain the ones already working in this area by providing greater mobility and skill-sharing between family violence and other sectors that perpetrators come into contact with. This includes mental health, alcohol and other drugs and justice services.
We can also map the education pathways into careers in perpetrator services. This will help us find ways to leverage these connections to other sectors and boost this workforce.
Strengthening family violence prevention
We aim to change the attitudes, behaviours and structures that cause family violence. To do this, we need to engage all Victorians in the places where they live, work, learn and play.
This means working across a range of settings where primary prevention is not necessarily the core focus. These settings include sports clubs, educational institutions, health services and faith institution.
It also means developing the prevention capability of people working in these settings to be able to support culture change.
We will grow the size and diversity of the primary prevention workforce in key settings and contexts.
We will develop a targeted learning approach for workers in those key settings. This will look at their job-readiness and their learning and development needs.
Case study: Family Violence and Sexual Assault Graduate Program
During the first RAP, we learned that two-thirds of new graduates applying for work were not successful because they did not have experience.
In response, we developed the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Graduate Program. This program aims to attract and recruit high-quality graduates.
135 graduates participated in the program from 2021 to 2024. Graduates participated in statewide learning and development opportunities. They also received supervision support, regular communities of practice and workshops.
We found that:
- 86% agencies satisfied with the program. They felt it prepared graduates for ongoing work
- 75% graduates intend to remain working in the sector
The evaluation of the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Graduate program will help us design a graduate intake program for the broader community service system. This program could feature graduate rotations between different community services. It would provide the social services equivalent to successful programs in the health and education systems.
Table 1: Focus area 1 – new actions and continuing activities
| New actions | Commencement |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Support employers to recruit workers to address critical vacancies across family violence and sexual assault services. | 2023–24 |
| 1.2 Explore opportunities to raise secondary school students’ awareness of the education, training and employment pathways that can lead to a career in community services. | 2023–24 |
| 1.3 Pilot a cross community services sector graduate program modelled on the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Graduate Program. | 2023–24 |
| 1.4 Map the education, training and employment pathways for people to work in perpetrator services and identify and test options to attract new, appropriately qualified workers. | 2024–25 |
| 1.5 Scope and develop targeted training approaches to grow the workforce contributing to primary prevention for diverse sectors and settings. | 2024–25 |
Continuing activity:
| 2023–24 |
Updated