Since the recent formation of a partnership between STEPS Training and a leading private healthcare provider Healthscope Community Programs in Darwin, workers in disability services are staying one step ahead of the game.
New government legislation will make it compulsory for disability service workers to have completed a Certificate IV in Disability Services by 2012 in order to work in their fields. This partnership has already made great strides to getting staff members to the level required.
The Northern Territory regional coordinator of Healthscope Community Programs (a division of Healthscope Ltd) Liz Taylor was the catalyst behind the decision to make an early move to upskill existing staff working in the care of disabled people, and she contacted STEPS Training about providing training. “Liz rang the office looking for ideas regarding basic training and upskilling for her staff. She was working with a new team who were providing community services in Darwin via Healthscope,” says David, a STEPS trainer who works with Healthscope staff to help them gain the Certificate IV qualifications. “Liz manages a group of staff who work in services for people with a disability and we introduced her to a range of courses that we provide. We discussed the Productivity Places Program with her, which is a government initiative to have people upskill and prepare them to work in the disability sector.”
The first group of seven Healthscope staff began the certificate shortly before Christmas last year and are now nearing completion of the course, with two of the units provided by STEPS Training. In addition to the assistance with the specifics of the qualification, STEPS Training provides Healthscope staff with support on a weekly basis, and that extra help was the key behind Liz’s decision to contact STEPS in the first place. “We were looking at providing further education internally to keep up to date with skills and experiences needed in the work space,” she said. “When we called STEPS, David came out to the house and discussed the different options of training courses we could do. STEPS Training have been wonderful in helping us achieve our goals and helping me support my staff.”
Liz says her staff in Darwin are working with many patients with early stage dementia, which requires staff to be upskilled in this area. With increasing numbers of residents with a disability admitted to Healthscope Community Programs residential services, the new skills learned through the Certificate IV in Disability Services are more important than ever to Healthscope.
