Workforce development

Supporting and enabling professional development in the aftercare workforce will improve the quality of care and minimise staff turnover.

Workforce development is a key enabler of universal aftercare,¹ particularly with a focus on upskilling the workforce and developing career pathways.^2,3

The following key elements of workforce development will improve overall retention and service quality.

Recruitment

Target recruitment efforts towards people with lived and living experience of suicide.

Advertise vacancies to the communities and priority populations you wish to support. For example, consider marketing vacancies through community forums and organisations, education providers (e.g. TAFE), interagency networks and social media.

Prioritise recruiting people from priority populations, while balancing the merit and skills needed from the workforce, such as:

• knowledge and experience of working with people in suicidal crisis
• knowledge and experience of supporting consumers through complex systems
• strong interpersonal skills, with an ability to connect, listen and support recovery.

Resources on employing people with lived and living experience

Onboarding

Onboarding new staff is an opportunity to introduce and orient them to broader local governance, and draw on the knowledge and skills of key partners. Frequent staff turnover risks loss of knowledge and can be disruptive to services and referral pathways.

In addition to standard onboarding processes, create an onboarding checklist that includes:

• an introduction to local services, interagency networks and referral pathways
• a face-to-face meeting with local Aboriginal community controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) and Aboriginal community controlled organisations (ACCOs), e.g. land council
• education on local priority populations and their needs
• an outline of staff supports and wellbeing resources.

Training and education

Promote training and education to improve the quality of services, and workforce satisfaction and retention.

Identify opportunities, and routinely offer this to staff. This may include formal training (workshops, online training) or informal training and education through local partnerships.

Collaborate with your workforce on their professional development goals.

Minimum training requirements

• Applied suicide intervention skills training (ASIST)
• Safety and recovery planning
• Cultural capability training tailored to your local Aboriginal community
• Managing wellbeing and recognising vicarious trauma
• Trauma-informed care (particularly through a cultural lens)
• Training to support family members, carers, friends and kin
• Training targeted to understanding and supporting priority populations, as determined by your local community

Additional training specific to roles:

• Team leaders and managers: managing and supporting workers with lived and living experience
• Peer workers: safe storytelling in the context of suicide prevention, e.g. Voices of Insight - Roses in the Ocean, Intentional Peer Support.

Career pathways

Promoting career pathways and career progression will support staff retention and satisfaction.

Thorough onboarding and ongoing training and education are core components to support career pathways. Understand the career and performance goals of staff and, where possible, align this with training and upskilling opportunities.

Existing internal processes, such as performance reviews, goal setting, and managerial support and mentorship can support the development of career pathways.

Cultural capability

Cultural capability training and education is an ongoing learning process. Enable and support the workforce to deepen their understanding of the local community.

For example, fostering connection with the local Aboriginal community can strengthen cultural capability and allyship, while improving the safety of services for Aboriginal people accessing aftercare services. You can do this by:

• learning about, and understanding, the local Aboriginal community in which you are working
• facilitating in-person cultural capability training for staff, from the local ACCHO or ACCO, or a provider they recommend (this will also help strengthen relationships with these partners)
• exploring other online cultural training from an Aboriginal provider
• completing cultural safety training at the start of employment and on an ongoing basis. Informal opportunities to enrich connections to, and deepen understanding of, the local Aboriginal community can help this, such as attending local cultural days or events.

References

1. Right From The Start: Report On The Design Of Australia’s Universal Aftercare System. Sydney (AU): Suicide Prevention Australia; Dec 2022 [cited 25 Sept 2024].
2. Mental Health Workforce Solutions: Towards A Strategy For Community-Managed Mental Health In NSW. Sydney (AU): Mental Health Coordinating Council; 2024 [cited 25 Sept 2024].
3. Suicide Aftercare Services: An Evidence Check Rapid Review Brokered by The Sax Institute for The Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. Sydney (AU): Sax Institute; 2023 [cited 25 Sept 2024].