Developing your workforce

For people who are self-managing, we recommend:

No aspect of workplace practice has changed more in recent years than learning and development. Disability service providers are using more on-line training and trying to ensure a strong return on investment on face-to-face programs. They are also reorienting training and professional development to their NDIS service model, with more emphasis on soft skills and person-centred approaches.

Resources featured here focus on building the capacity of the disability workforce.

NDS Learn and Develop

NDS Learn and Develop offers the disability sector access to quality, flexible and cost effective learning solutions from recognised providers. Learn and Develop offers free and commercial courses always with an online option.

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NDIS information

NDIS and You, from National Disability Practitioners (NDP) provides up-to-date information and resources on the NDIS rollout and how it affects people working in the sector.

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Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) has created a short, free, online course called 'Introduction to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for Allied Health Professions'. The course has six modules and attracts CPD points.

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The Royal Australian College of Physicians has developed a series of online guides for medical specialists on the NDIS. The information is current, comprehensive and informative for everyone.

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Zero Tolerance

Safeguarding and human rights training is the focus of this multi-faceted program led by NDS in partnership with the disability sector. Zero Tolerance assists disability service providers to understand, implement and improve practices which safeguard the rights of people they support.

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Industry training and assessment resources

Five NDS learning guides and three video clips make up the Participation Project series. Topics covered are :

The role of the disability worker
Communication
Giving Medication
Lifestyle Choices and Healthy Behaviour.

Developed in collaboration with stakeholders and experts, these resources target current training gaps and will help ensure that disability support workers have a well-rounded understanding of their role.

The content of Participation Project resources corresponds to Certificate III Individual Support (Disability) competencies.

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Workplace literacy and numeracy

Strong workplace language, literacy and numeracy skills are an important workforce development focus in preparing for the requirements of the NDIS workplace.

NDS worked with disability service providers to see how we can strengthen workforce skills in these areas. A series of high quality resources for workers were developed as a result:

Communicating in Plain English
Get Ready to Assist Clients with Medication
Team Meeting Training Suggestions

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Training quality

Quality Criteria for Disability Sector Training is a checklist developed by providers for assessing the quality of accredited training courses and training providers.

Industry-led Approaches to Strengthening Training Quality in the Disability Sector is an NDS report on ways to strengthen training quality. Validation was selected as one of the most effective methods and approaches to this in Tasmania, NSW and WA are described.

Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families care for children and other relatives with disabilities. Under the NDIS disability service providers are developing new ways to engage and support ATSI people with disabilities. It is important to recognise that every community is different. The resources that can assist are listed below.

The first Peoples Disability Network, a coalition of Indigenous organsations from around Australia, has developed a Ten Point Plan for the Implementation of the NDIS in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.

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The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet contains health and disability resources and information guides icluding the Message Book for Disability Services for providers working with Aboriginal people.

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People (employability) skills

To be effective in any work situation, people need a combination of:

technical skills
language, literacy and numercay skills
non-technical or people skills

Non-technical skills are extremely important in disability as in other types of relationship-based work. The Core Skills for Work Framework was developed in 2013 to help training providers integrate the teaching of these skills into their training. The Employer Guide developed at the time provides:

a common language for talking about these skills
a way of clarifying your organisation’s expectations (every work setting will be different)
a matrix for evaluating an individual’s strengths, and areas for further development
ways in which organisations can help people improve their skills in this area.

Connect here: Core Skills for Work Employer Guide

Capability Framework Learning Resources

The Disability Workforce Capability Framework for job design defines the skills, knowledge and capabilities required by all major job roles across the disability sector.

A set of learning and development frameworks provide more detail about competencies expected at three levels: