Disability Workforce Innovation Project

A skilled, sufficiently large and diverse disability workforce is critical to the delivery of high-quality services and to the success of the NDIS. This resource provides information about the project along with services, information and tools to providers to optimise their workforces.

  The Workforce Connector Model  Recruitment and Retention  Regional Disability Workforce Innovation Showcase

In the NDS State of the Disability Sector Reports in 2017 and 2018, providers cited HR Strategy and Workforce Planning as one of their top three business capabilities most in need of improvement. 

The Victorian Government is funding a $26 million program of strategies outlined in, Keeping our sector strong: Victoria’s Workforce Plan for the NDIS to build the Disability workforce in Victoria. This plan identified the need to support regions as one key strategy.  In line with this, the NDS conducted a Disability Workforce Innovation Project funded by DHHS (DFFH).

Who is this for? 

Service Provider CEOs, HR Managers, Managers, Project Officers. Since the project took a place based, ecology approach to workforce innovation, other audiences included RTOs, local councils, Carer and Consumer Advocacy groups, Job Actives, Disability Employment Services.

Workforce Connectors - A Powerful Model!

This project allowed Regional Workforce Connectors to use their local knowledge and networks to help local organisations and stakeholders to:

• Identify and capture local workforce issues and contributing factors
• Identify and work on local solutions
• Access funding grants with free grant application workshops and follow up coaching
• Choose and access workforce tools and other resources
• Increase relevant workforce data using the NDS Workforce Wizard
• Learn what other organisations are finding useful and not useful
• Form and facilitate local collaborations to work on local workforce problems
• Increase Victorian Government knowledge of local disability workforce issues

The Workforce Connectors had a broad range of workforce knowledge, skills and networks that were important to the success of this project.