Top of page
Education and Employment

Training boost for social assistance and allied health sector

young man points hand at flipchart

Western Australia’s social assistance and allied health sector has a significant training boost under the McGowan Government’s new Enterprise Training Program (ETP).

Introduced on July 1, 2019, the ETP provides support to employers to help them upskill their workforce to meet the challenges related to workforce development in WA. 

Funding for approximately 3,500 training places for aged care and disability care workers has been allocated since the roll-out of the pilot program, with skillsets linked to the Certificate IV in Ageing and Certificate III in Individual Support the most common.

Working in partnership with a registered training organisation, individual employers in the social assistance and allied health sector can apply for up to $200,000, while a consortium of employers can access up to $300,000 in funding. 

A second initiative, the Pre-Traineeships Program is operating as a pilot program aimed at providing students with an introduction to the aged care and disability care sectors and an understanding of the working environment.   

The program provides employers, in partnership with a registered training organisation, an opportunity to pre-screen potential students for their suitability to work in the social assistance and allied health sector.

Both initiatives were introduced in response to the Social Assistance and Allied Health Workforce Strategy released by the State Training Board in 2018. The strategy was developed with extensive industry input and recommended a co-ordinated response to maximise the development of a contemporary, skilled and flexible workforce aligned with the National Disability Insurance Scheme roll-out.   

Funding for both programs is a combination of State and Commonwealth funds under the National Partnership Skilling Australians Fund. 

Further information is available at www.dtwd.wa.gov.au

 

You might also like

young woman in wheelchair with colleagues working in office young woman in wheelchair with colleagues working in office

Big firms struggle to reduce disability bias, study finds

Working for a big company or in an HR role…

employee with Down syndrome standing in a supermarket employee with Down syndrome standing in a supermarket

Australian employers benefit from hiring persons with disabilities, study finds

Employers reap $40 in savings for every dollar invested in…

employee with Down syndrome standing in a supermarket employee with Down syndrome standing in a supermarket

Pilot program for young people with intellectual disabilities

A collaboration between the Western Australian charity Good Sammy, the…

Young pretty female in casualwear sitting in wheelchair by desk and looking at computer screen Young pretty female in casualwear sitting in wheelchair by desk and looking at computer screen

Disability sector needs funding to meet minimum wage boost

The disability sector welcomes pay increases for disability workers, but…