Digital upskilling underway for hospital workforce

A NEW pilot program aimed at enhancing the digital skills of health sector workers has been rolled out at Grampians Health.

Supported by the State Government’s $4.4 million Skills Solutions Partnerships program, the health service is partnering with RMIT and Cisco Networking Academy to deliver training courses to upskill frontline, clinical and IT staff.

The new courses and on-the-job training are focused on quickly addressing skills gaps in priority sectors and advancing the digital competency of healthcare staff.

An initial capped intake of 360 Grampians Health staff are making their way through a mix of self-paced online modules, live tutorials and face-to-face workshops, including emerging technologies in healthcare, together with specialised courses in AI and data management.

Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing Colin Brooks, who visited Ballarat Base Hospital last week to see a demonstration of the training, said initial courses had proven popular, with demand exceeding places available.

He said industry-led training approaches – including short courses and on-the-job learning models – would help address skills gaps in the health workforce.

“We are upskilling the digital skills of Victoria’s healthcare workforce, which will lead to a greater uptake of new technologies that could improve the patient experience and increase efficiencies across our health services,” he said.

Following the completion of the pilot phase, the training will be delivered to Grampians Health’s broader workforce of more than 7000 staff, across 11 local government areas in Victoria’s north-west region.

Grampians Health CEO Dale Fraser said the new training would enhance patient care.

“Digital transformation in healthcare, particularly through the implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs), is not just about adopting new technologies,” he said.

“It’s about enhancing patient care, improving efficiency, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.”

With nearly one quarter of the state’s 340,000-healthcare workforce based in regional and rural locations, the training program has been designed to be scalable to meet the needs of other healthcare providers across the nation.

RMIT’s health transformation lab director Nithya Solomon said the university was proud to deliver a flexible education solution that rapidly upskilled health sector workers and targeted specific skills gaps across the Grampians Health network.

Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison said it was fantastic to see Ballarat leading the way in digital health training that supported frontline workers and improved patient care.