Victorian Training Awards 2024 Industry Collaboration Award winner
In Victoria’s south west, the care economy is seeing large increases in employment and high demand for skilled workers.
With more than 290 aged care facilities spread across the region, often over an hour away from the nearest training provider, local employers recognised the need for accessible training for their workers and learners.
To make training more accessible, South West TAFE partnered with employers in the region (including Eventide, Edgarley Assisted Living, Calvary Community Care, and disability provider Mulleraterong) to develop a place-based innovative solution to attract, train and retain workers in the region’s care sector.
Supported by the Victorian Government, this collaboration resulted in a mobile training facility featuring interactive learning tools and state-of-the-art training equipment. The facility is specially designed to help trainees in the Certificate III in Individual Support learn and practice essential skills, including hygiene and grooming, manual handling safety, infection control, using communication devices, and supporting individuals with dementia.
This collaborative approach involving government, industry and TAFE is bringing critical training to learners and employers and addressing regional workforce challenges in the care sector. Student completion and staff retention rates have improved and, since its launch in 2023, the initiative has supported over 75 trainees and boosted the number of employers partnering with South West TAFE.
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