Victoria is leading the nation in its commitment to providing high-quality training that meet the needs of industry.
The Victorian Government’s Skills First reforms set a new benchmark in training quality, with a focus on courses that meet the needs of industry and lead to real job outcomes.
Building on these reforms, this plan delivers targeted strategies to achieve the best possible outcomes for students undertaking courses in disability work.
Qualifications review
The first priority is a detailed review of current disability-related training package qualifications to ensure they are fit-for-purpose for the NDIS environment.
Where necessary, Victoria will work with the Australian Industry and Skills Committee to seek amendments to qualifications if any gaps or deficiencies are identified, and respond with other strategies to ensure quality in training content and delivery.
The Victorian Government will work with industry towards outcomes that may include developing shared learning and assessment resources or accredited courses to address new skill requirements, or devising strategies that enable more flexible access to training opportunities in line with individuals’ professional development needs.
In response to the recommendations of the 2016 Parliamentary Inquiry into Abuse in Disability Services, the Victorian Government will also review the Certificate IV in Disability to ensure it has an appropriate focus on the recognition, prevention and reporting of abuse.
Development opportunities for trainers
The Victorian Government will also work with the disability sector and education and training providers to understand the professional development needs of Vocational Education and Training (VET) trainers and assessors, and to provide access to learning and development opportunities that equip staff with the knowledge and skills they need to train the NDIS workforce of the future.
Quality work placements
Work placements give students the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on industry experience. Good quality placements that enable students to work alongside trained and experienced staff play a crucial role in preparing students for work.
Drawing on innovative approaches in other sectors, such as allied health, the Victorian Government will support partnerships between disability service providers and education and training providers to trial collaborative work placement models that increase the sector’s capacity to offer high-quality, supervised placements in the new NDIS environment.
Ongoing industry engagement
Through the work of the Victorian Skills Commissioner and a new model of industry engagement, the Victorian Government is giving a real voice to the disability sector to ensure the training system responds to the needs of disability service providers.
Objective:
Support high quality work placements for students, improve current training available to disability workers, and provide quality training for the NDIS workforce for the future.
Actions:
- Facilitate partnerships between disability service providers and the education and training sector to conduct research and trial collaborative work placement models.
- Undertake a detailed review of relevant disability qualifications within the Community Services Training Package and Health Training Package and identify and respond to any gaps in these qualifications (focusing on the core competencies).
- Understand the professional development needs of VET trainers and assessors and provide access to learning and development opportunities to equip these staff with the knowledge and skills they need to provide quality training for the NDIS workforce of the future.
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