Mobile training continues to thrive

An innovative mobile workforce development program led by South West TAFE has spread to 33 aged care facilities across Victoria and introduced more than 110 new trainees to an industry desperate for new staff.

The award-winning lab is now being delivered across 24 towns in 10 local government areas with more expansion opportunities on the horizon.

Since its introduction, aged care traineeship numbers through South West TAFE have increased by 556 per cent and employer-partner numbers by 175 per cent.

An impressive 89 per cent of trainees have been retained within the aged care system.

The skills lab has also been expanded to disability and home care work.

The Aged Care Mobile Skills Lab takes training on the road to rural areas to address chronic workforce shortages in the aged care sector. It allows remotely located learners to enter a Certificate III in Individual Support traineeship and be trained at their workplace. Last year it won the Industry Collaboration Award at the Victorian Training Awards and went on to secure bronze at the national titles.

Skills lab project coordinator and personal support teacher Robert Peoples said the lab had worked with 33 partner providers across 24 locations Surf Coast, Greater Geelong, Corangamite, Southern Grampians, Glenelg, West Wimmera, Northern Grampians, Ararat, Hindmarsh, Greater Shepparton, Southern Grampians, Horsham, Latrobe, Colac Otway and East Gippsland.

“I’ve done 51,000 kilometres in the past year and a half in the bus,” he said.

In recent months Mr Peoples has spoken at a National Aged Care Workforce Leaders Conference and the NDIS Reform Summit in Sydney, this month he will be meeting with an organisation that stages national aged care conferences across Australia, and in February will present the skills lab at a disability forum in Wodonga.

“It has gone well beyond what we thought it might be,” Mr Peoples said. “It is the first in Victoria and I believe it’s the only one in Australia doing what we do, but it can be duplicated.”

As part of its training awards success, Mr Peoples is advocating to organisations about the advantages of collaborating with each other and with training partners.

He is also working with Human Services Skills Organisation to support home care workforce capacity building, which could see the lab concept extended so isolated or remote Indigenous communities across Australia can access training opportunities to build self-reliance in their communities.

“We believe the mobile skills lab is ideal to bring training to those isolated areas,” Mr Peoples said. “It used to be that everyone had to come to us but now we’re focused on taking everything to you, regardless of where you are.”

School-based traineeships are a growing part of the lab’s success, planting interest early to grow a much-needed workforce.

The Mobile Skills Lab is a purpose-built motorhome refurbished with funding from the Victorian Government. The lab simulates an aged care room and has a custom-built annex that can house 12 students to run a class.

It is a workforce development collaboration between South West TAFE as the lead organisation and disability, aged care and home care providers Eventide Homes Stawell, Calvary Community Care, Edgarley Assisted Living Casterton, Mulleraterong in Hamilton as industry experts.

Video: https://youtu.be/YHZ0PwXQb8g?si=juxLOqYyCaa3uTd4