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Workforce
Goal:
To support the development of a highly skilled and sustainable Tasmanian mental health workforce
Key Initiatives:
- Scope and develop new workforce models and roles that recognise demand challenges based on pre-existing and COVID-19 related impacts
- Promote and support the safety and wellbeing of the community managed mental health workforce
- Foster partnerships with government, agencies and learning providers to address workforce shortages, training, attraction, and retention challenges
With Tasmania’s mental health system already at capacity, MHCT works closely with our members, and the community mental health sector more broadly, to understand the various challenges in recruiting and retaining mental health professionals in the state. We work with both State and Federal Government to highlight these gaps and concerns, and advocate for the development of a Tasmanian Mental Health Workforce Strategy to help overcome these challenges.
In 2019 we launched Tasmania’s Peer Workforce Development Strategy, which aims to embed people with lived experience at all levels of care and support, leveraging their unique qualification to provide a better experience and outcome for those on their own recovery journey. An Implementation Plan for the Strategy is currently in development and will be launched in 2022.
Lived Experience Training and Development Hub
The Mental Health Council of Tasmania, in partnership with the in partnership with the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council of Tasmania, are in the process of setting up a Lived Experience Training Hub (the LEx).
The LEx, which will be jointly funded by the State Government and Primary Health Tasmania, will provide training pathways for people with lived experience of mental health concerns and people with lived experience of alcohol and other drug use, empowering them to effectively apply their unique expertise to support others through their own treatment or recovery journeys.
In addition to upskilling Lived Experience Workers, the LEx will also provide training to help organisations improve their systems, supports and workplace culture to better understand, value and support Lived Experience roles.
MHCT has already developed and piloted a four-day course, which introduces people to the fundamentals of Lived Experience Work, with overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants.