Interim Evaluation of the Northern Territory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Aged Care Workforce Development Projects - Final Report
1: Executive Summary
1.1 The Workforce Development Projects
The Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) have developed and are currently implementing the following Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Aged Care Workforce Development Projects (Workforce Development Projects or the Projects) in the Northern Territory (NT):- Employment of up to 349 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff in aged care services due to changes to the Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) program
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Training Resource Development Project (NT Resources Project)
- The Northern Territory Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Training Project (NT Training Project)
1.1.1 Context of the workforce development projects
The CDEP program commenced in 1977 as a community-based employment initiative available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, or distinct groups of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within a community. The program was initially implemented in 12 remote Aboriginal communities in the NT. By 2003, the CDEP program had expanded so that as of June 2003 it was estimated to have over 31,000 participants across Australia.Prior to 2007, the CDEP program was a key avenue of employment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia, particularly those living in remote areas1. In 2002, one in four Indigenous workers were employed through the CDEP scheme nationally. In non-remote areas, only one in ten Indigenous workers were employed through CDEP, compared to the majority of workers (60%) being employed through CDEP in remote areas2. The proportion also varied across employment sectors. The success of CDEP in meeting its aim of providing work readiness skills to its participants varied greatly dependant on location and employment sector.
In 2007, under the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), a number of reforms to the CDEP program were announced, including the implementation of the NTER Employment and Welfare Reform Measure which intended to remove the CDEP program in many locations. This measure also included specific funding for the NT Jobs Package. This Package discontinued the subsidisation of government service delivery with CDEP placements instead providing services with funding to pay full wages with full entitlements to their employees. Approximately 2000 employment positions were funded in a range of Australian and NT government funded service providers. The NT Jobs Package also provided funding for training to be delivered to those people who would now be employed in the positions previously being delivered by workers under CDEP arrangements.
Prior to the NT Jobs Package the provision of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care services relied heavily on the use of people who were enrolled in the CDEP program. It was estimated that up to two thirds of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce in community aged care services in the NT worked on a casual, sometimes ad hoc basis, through CDEP placements.
Due to the reliance of the NT community aged care sector on CDEP placements, removal of the program had the potential to impact negatively on service providers’ capacity to access local staff and on individual’s ability to work and meet their cultural and community obligations through the removal of the flexibility of working conditions.
Additionally, there has historically been limited success in training outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote locations, not just those on CDEP. For example, in 2007 it was estimated that 8% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care workforce in the NT held relevant industry qualifications3.
This facilitated an opportunity for DoHA to take a strategic approach to workforce development in the aged care services in the NT. To this end, DoHA implemented a range of projects to support the transition to paid employment for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who moved from CDEP to working in community aged care services. In addition, DoHA entered into a partnership arrangement with the NT Government to ensure that training opportunities could be provided to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care workers in the NT, not just former CDEP participants.
The Projects contribute towards the commitment made by the Australian Government and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to close the employment gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians.
1.1.2 Objectives of the workforce development projects
Collectively, the Workforce Development Projects aim to:- Provide employment opportunities in aged care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Develop the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workforce through the provision of culturally appropriate training and associated training resources
- Build capacity and sustainability in the training workforce in the NT, and
- Assist in the provision of quality community aged care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through appropriate staffing and training.
1.1.3 Links between the projects
The Workforce Development Projects are interlinked:- The NT Employment Project aims to develop a stable and ongoing workforce that provides employment opportunities in aged care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- The NT Training Project provides access to skill development that will support people in effectively carrying out their roles and developing further skills and experience that will provide ongoing employment opportunities
- The NT Resources Project underpins the Training Project by identifying and developing information and training resources that will ensure effective training is delivered and support the information and support needs of managers, coordinators and direct care workers in the aged care sector, and
- The NT Aged Care Coordinators Workshops aimed to support the Training Project by providing coordinators/managers and second in charge with the management and mentoring skills needed to support staff through training. This project is mentioned in this document but was not included in the evaluation as the implementation of the seven workshops fell outside the evaluation timeframe (May – June 2010).
1.2 The Evaluation
1.2.1 Evaluation objective and outcomes
This evaluation is an interim evaluation of the Workforce Development Projects in their first year of implementation. The objective of the evaluation was to provide DoHA and other key stakeholders with information on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Projects in achieving their intended outcomes. The evaluation also provides ongoing recommendations for continuous improvement.This evaluation assessed whether the Projects were successful in:
- Building the capacity and sustainability of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care workforce in the NT
- Assisting in improving the quality of community aged care services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the NT through appropriate staffing and training, and
- Whether the Projects as a whole, have had a positive impact on the aged care workforce and what the impact is.
1.2.2 Evaluation methodology
The evaluation involved discussions and interviews with the stakeholders in the Workforce Development projects including: management and workers in aged care services, Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), project resource developers, shire representatives, community council representatives, community clinic staff and government representatives. Over 260 individuals contributed to the evaluation. Additional information was obtained through the Skills Audit Database (SAD)4, project materials and reports and a literature review5.1.3 Evaluation Findings
1.3.1 The workforce development projects as a whole
The evaluation has shown that the multifaceted approach taken by the NT and Australian Governments to support the creation of permanent paid employment; including the development of resources to support culturally appropriate training; the delivery of on-site training to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the NT; and the mentoring workshops for aged care service coordinators is an effective approach to address the complex challenges faced by aged care services in delivering services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.1.3.2 The strengths of the workforce development projects
The strengths of the Workforce Development Projects to date have been the:- Employment of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the paid positions created in local aged care services as a result of changes to CDEP processes
- Provision of on-site training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care workers, and
- Ongoing resource development resulting in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-specific training resource materials.
1.3.3 Key areas for improvement for the workforce development projects
The key areas for improvement in the workforce development projects are:- Continued investment in refining and streamlining communication across all stakeholders
- Continue to support RTOs to develop and implement flexible modes of delivery that contribute to the up-skilling of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workers
- Rethinking the methodology for the collection of workforce data to:
- improve the skills audit process to ensure that it informs the content of training being delivered
- achieve baseline data of the size and demographic of the entire aged care workforce in the NT which is measurable in future years, and
- Further development of linkages across key stakeholders including, other training programs to improve access to language, literacy and numeracy and work readiness training.
- Creation of paid employment as a result of changes to CDEP, through the NT Employment Project, has been successful in building the capacity of the community aged care workforce and has had a positive impact on the workers and on the aged care services
- Resources and tools developed as part of the NT Resources Project have laid the foundation for the further development of training resources targeted to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners utilising the framework of Certificate III in Aged Care or HACC, and
- Training being provided through the NT Training Project is contemporary and suitable to the workforce and the services being provided to the NT aged care clients.
1.4 The NT Employment Project
The transition to permanent employment arrangements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workers through changes to the CDEP process has been very successful in building the capacity of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workforce and has had a positive impact on the workers and aged care services overall. Staff in converted positions, appreciate the wages, the structure and the opportunity to work in a ‘proper’ job. In general, services have more reliable staff and are able to better plan the delivery of services to the clients.Information on the number of workers and hours worked in employment positions created from changes to CDEP processes indicates that the positions are close to being fully utilised for the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the sample of communities. This correlates with the employment retention reports provided by DoHA indicating that this is likely to be the same for all communities with funding for positions.
The evaluation has identified that, to date, the turnover of staff in the newly created positions is similar to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care workforce turnover throughout Australia. Continued evaluation of the workforce turnover will enable an understanding of whether the Workforce Development Projects contribute to the further sustainability of the workforce over time.
In summary, this project has achieved:
- The successful employment of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the positions created from the changes to CDEP processes
- Stakeholder satisfaction with the process
- Management and worker satisfaction with the newly created positions, and
- The development of a workforce profile of workers in aged care services that provides an understanding of the workforce including workers in positions created from changes to CDEP processes.
- Is a female aged between 25 and 44 years of age
- Works as a part-time direct care worker
- Has been employed for less than 2 years
- Has minimal qualifications, and
- English is not their first language.
- Works similar hours to the ‘average’ Australian community aged care worker
- Is younger than the ‘average’ Australian community aged care worker
- Has completed less formal education (to year 11 or 12) than the ‘average’ Australian community aged care worker (15% vs 54%)
- Has significantly less qualifications relevant to their role in aged care than the ‘average’ Australian community aged care worker (5% vs 54%), and
- They are as likely to leave their job as the ‘average’ Australian community aged care worker.
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1.5 The NT Resources Project
A Resources Database was developed to identify relevant publicly available training resources and gaps in training resources for the delivery of training to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care workers. This project highlighted the need for specific resource development in some areas and identified other areas where there were adequate training resources publicly available to RTOs. This has informed the development of further aged care training resources specifically for use with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners.The training resources that are currently being developed will provide learning and training modules that meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers. Although the resources are not finalised the drafts viewed by the evaluators reflect the type of learning resources and approaches identified by evaluation respondents as successful8.
The second stage of this project was to identify the core skills necessary to deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged and disabled people in remote locations in the NT. The project identified 30 core skill areas across a range of work roles that are required by direct care workers and coordinators to work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aged care services in the NT. This involved analysis of job descriptions, site visits to a sample of services to evaluate the range of duties undertaken by services, and review of the Home and Community Care (HACC) Minimum Data Set.
The Skills Audit Database was then developed, based on this mapping, to assist RTOs to identify and link the:
- Range of services the community aged care service is funded to deliver
- Skills required to deliver those services, and
- Individual skills of each worker, to determine their training needs, prior to training.
This evaluation highlighted the need for this process to occur to achieve quality training outcomes for the workers. There is a need for increased investment in refining the tool as the RTOs did not find it easy to use and also to further communicate its intent and purpose to the RTOs to increase the use of the tool.
The Skills Audit Database was further developed to support the collection of information about training being delivered and to develop a workforce profile across the aged care workforce in the NT. The RTOs were required to collect this information. This has not been an effective tool for its purpose and the development of an alternative tool and data collection strategies are recommended to improve and streamline the collection of information.
1.6 The NT Training Project
Four NT based RTOs were contracted to provide aged care training. Each RTO was allocated a different region, two in the Top-End and two in Central Australia to avoid overlap and to cover communities throughout the NT. These regions based on shire boundaries and independent services located within the shire region were allocated to the corresponding RTO.As at March 2010, the RTOs had delivered regionally-targeted training to 46 aged care services, in which an estimated 230 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers participated in the training9.
In the evaluation sample of 39 services, 33 services received training with 165 workers participating in training to varying degrees. Findings in relation to the NT Training Project are based on the sample of services.
Based on feedback from the service coordinators, workers and other stakeholders, the training provided is contemporary, suitable to the workforce and appropriate to the services being provided to aged care clients: 82% of the service providers who participated in the training said that the training met or partly met their needs and 90% of workers groups said that the training met their needs.
A major impact of the training has been an increase in worker confidence and skill, and client confidence in workers: 36% of coordinators felt that the training had developed a more skilled workforce and 30% felt that the training developed a more confident workforce. 97% of workers groups said that the training helped them to do a better job.
Service providers and workers also rated highly the location of training, the timing, the delivery mode, length of courses, the frequency of training and the duration of classes.
Whilst the training was well received and appreciated, the consultations highlighted some areas for improvement including:
- The need to accurately assess training needs through conducting skills audits of all potential training participants to understand the level of work readiness, skill base and existing qualifications of each individual
- Development of tailored training plans to meet the needs of the individual and the job they do within the service to meet the needs of service, its clients and the community
- Ensure flexibility in the delivery of training to meet the needs of the students and service delivery requirements, and
- Leadership and management training to coordinators to provide them with the skills to support and mentor trainees.
- Continue to deliver on-site training
- Assess service and worker needs accurately
- Work practically with workers and limit classroom-based learning
- Use workbooks to reinforce learning (where applicable)
- Work with the service coordinator to outline a training schedule that meets their service’s needs eg short blocks over a long period of time
- Continue to involve the coordinators to tailor the training to meet service needs
- Be flexible in the delivery of training to meet individual needs and limitations
- Seek feedback from coordinators and workers on an ongoing basis – check back that the training is appropriate and acceptable to them, and
- Remain flexible in light of community issues and challenges.
RTOs provide quarterly progress reports to DoHA with information and statistics on the training delivered, issues impacting on their work and other relevant issues. The integrity and quality of data collected through the quarterly progress reports and the Skills Audit Database in the first year of the project indicated that there were opportunities for improvement in capturing data about the training. Changes implemented by DoHA in the future on how training data is collected will enhance the project through providing cumulative information on training delivery and outputs as the NT Training Project continues.
1.7 Other Evaluation Elements
Other elements of the evaluation included: DoHA processes to support projects; the partnership approach; information produced through the projects; whether the Projects had increased the capacity of training in the NT; and determining the learnings from the evaluation11.1.7.1 DoHA processes to support projects
DoHA facilitated a range of meetings to support the communication and information flow about the projects. An initial meeting was convened with key stakeholders including, RTOs, Shire aged care coordinators, aged care service managers, resource developers and the evaluators at the commencement of the training project in February 2009. Two further project management meetings were held with the RTOs in May 2009 and February 2010.All stakeholders were generally satisfied with the workshops provided to support the Projects.
A fact sheet about the training was also developed and sent to all services with eligibility in January 2010.
From February to March 2010, DoHA conducted a questionnaire of aged care service managers and coordinators to:
- Obtain feedback on the progress of the NT Training Project, and
- Identify ways to support coordinators in managing and becoming mentors to their staff to reinforce and support the training delivered by RTOs.
In May 2010, DoHA held a meeting in Darwin with Shire representatives responsible for aged care services to discuss the range of issues that affect the delivery of aged care. DoHA provided a presentation and used the forum to receive feedback about the learning’s from the first year of training and consult about the next steps for the projects.
From this information ongoing improvements have been identified and implemented and have included a focus on developing service coordinators and further informing shire representatives of requirements and the Projects’ objectives.
1.7.2 The partnership approach
Prior to the commencement of the training project DoHA was aware that the large majority of the staff in services did not have industry recognised qualifications. To address this, DoHA entered into a partnership with NT Department of Health and Families, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The aim of the partnership approach was to enable RTOs to train all of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff employed in the eligible aged care services, not just those who had been employed through changes to CDEP arrangements. This approach created equal access to training for the workforce. It also reduced the need to double up on the provision of training in remote communities. The partnership approach between DoHA and the NT Department of Health and Families was successful in extending participation in the Workforce Development Projects; however, a number of improvements are recommended to further enhance the approach. These include:- Clarify the NT Training Project guidelines and community member requirements for accessing training giving consideration to the appropriateness of outside attendance in situations that may disrupt the work of the service
- Increase awareness of and promote the NT Training Project more broadly within communities, and
- Further utilise local knowledge to support the Project.
1.7.3 Increasing the capacity of training in the NT
DoHA identified the delivery of training by local trainers as an important factor in the success and sustainability of the Workforce Development Projects. A specific question for the evaluation was: Has the NT Training Project increased the number and availability of suitably qualified trainers in the NT?Four RTOs have been contracted to deliver training in the NT all of whom are NT based (however, one provider has its head office in Qld). All have had challenges with recruiting and retaining suitable trainers. A high level of skills and training experience is required to effectively deliver training to this group of learners. In addition, trainers need to be culturally aware and be resilient to manage extensive remote travel.
Whilst funding is available to deliver the training, RTOs have expressed a commitment to build their capacity to deliver it. In this context, the Projects have been successful in building the capacity of training in the NT.
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1.8 The Future
DoHA implemented an evaluation of the Workforce Development Projects at the commencement of the Projects to ensure that the evaluation framework could be developed as the Projects were implemented to identify improvements on an ongoing basis and to understand the impacts of the Projects for the future. The concurrent evaluation enabled the evaluators to be involved through the formative phase of the Projects and to develop a comprehensive range of baseline measures/results that have informed the interim evaluation and can inform future evaluations.It is important to recognise that the achievements of the Projects are expected to be longer term. Employment and training outcomes will need to be measured over time. The impact of the ongoing projects; training resource development and support for coordinators cannot be measured at this time. The impact of the NT Employment Project is linked to the government’s Closing the Gap target of halving the gap in employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a decade and needs to be measured over time.
The evaluation has identified key factors influencing workforce development in the NT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Sector and highlighted the complexity of delivering services in the NT.
Responsibility for these key factors is not solely in the domain or influence of the Workforce Development Projects, but it is important to give these factors consideration when seeking to understand the impacts of these Projects and in developing strategies to improve the impacts.
These key factors are depicted in Figure 1.1: Key Factors Influencing Workforce Development in the NT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Sector and are described in 10.7: The Future.
Figure 1.1: Key Factors Influencing Workforce Development in the NT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Sector
1. Gelade & Stehlik (2004) Exploring locality: the impact of context on Indigenous vocational education and training aspirations and outcomes
2. ABS 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey 2002
3. Gevers Goddard Jones 2007 Addenda to the Report on Mapping of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Home and Community Care (HACC) Workforce Table A5.27: Staff Demographics - Northern Territory - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Focused HACC Services p80
4. The SAD is a data collection tool for RTOs involved in the NT Training Project
5. Further information on the evaluation methodology is included in Section 3: Overview of the Workforce Development Projects and the Evaluation. The literature review is included in the Attachments to this report
6. Martin B and D King 2007 Australian Government National Institute of Labour Studies Flinders University SA Who cares for older Australians? A picture of the residential and community based aged care workforce 2007 Canberra Department of Health and Ageing
7. Further information on the NT Employment Project is included in Section 4: Evaluation Element 1: Northern Territory Employment Project
8. Further information on the NT Resources Project is included in Section 5: Evaluation Element 2: Northern Territory Resources Project.
9. The figure of 230 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers is extrapolated from the sample of services where an average of 5 people in each community participated in the training. DoHA advised that 46 service providers participated in training
10. Further information on the NT Training Project is included in Section 6: Evaluation Element 3: Northern Territory Training Project
11. Further information on the other evaluation elements is included in Section 10: Evaluation Element 7: Northern Territory Workforce Projects as a Whole
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