The purpose of this SWTP Scoping project was to collect comprehensive data about the current Victoria Mental Health Workforce Development environment – primarily to understand in detail, the operations of each of the SWTP.
Project Methodology
There were two stages to this project, which ran from July 2019 to October 2020:
- Stage one included a scan of all public information for each SWTP (through online research, materials etc.)
- Stage two of this project involved face to face consultations with 15 SWTP to gather information that was not publicly available, and also not already collected by DHHS.
We conducted 2-hour consultations with key training and senior executives from 15 SWTPs.
The data collected focused on the operations of the SWTP in terms of:
- Governance and staffing
- Funding arrangements
- Training design, delivery, and evaluation
- Strengths and challenges
- Innovation
We also collected 2018 training activity data.
Key Findings
We identified some key areas for possible CMHL support and collaboration:
- Lack of current policies and frameworks to guide SWTP’s work in some areas.
- Varied approaches to training needs analysis and evaluation
- Limited involvement of lived experience in SWTP training activities
- Lack of resources to meet training demand
- Difficult to identify FTE allocated to specific training activities due to multiple roles and responsibilities.
- Desire for SWTP to connect and share more
Recommendations
We proposed a number of ways the CMHL could work with the SWTPs to address some of these findings. They include:
- CMHL to collaborate with SWTP to develop a training needs analysis framework
- CMHL to collaborate with SWTP to design and implement a quality review and improvement process
- CMHL to create a toolkit to standardise training evaluation
- CMHL to establish a centralised digital learning development platform to increase access to SWTP training
Learning Management System
CMHL have since developed and launched our learning management system (LMS). A co-designed process will commence in October 2021 with self nominated staff from statewide training providers to begin to explore the development of a statewide training evaluation framework and toolkit.
Unfortunately, other factors have limited the progress on other areas identified above. To understand what a training need analysis and a quality review and improvement process might look like, we will need to be guided by Victorian Mental Health Workforce Strategy, and the Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Capability Framework, both recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System final report.
Poster download 
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