Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO) has launched a campaign in partnership with school leaver service Year13 in an effort to attract young people into the Human Services sector.
The Positive Humanity campaign is a free online learning platform through Year 13’s ‘The Academy’ which sits on its website. Year13 has partnerships with hundreds of schools and more than 1.6 million young Australians are said to visit the site each year.
According to Year13 CEO Will Stubley, the partnership was designed to empower young people to make the decision on whether pursuing a career pathway in the Human Services industry was right for them.
“It’s in real demand at the moment so we are looking forward to helping young people with a passion for healthcare and social assistance find a successful and happy future,” he said. “Positive Humanity participants will learn about different career paths in the sector, get a deeper understanding of what it is like to work in various jobs, hear from other young people currently working in the sectors and given direction on training, qualifications and next steps.”
HSSO CEO Jodi Schmidt said too many young people assumed they won’t like the job and often don’t understand the diversity of roles and type of work available. “For individuals who enjoy working with people and having variety, it is very rewarding,” she said.
“The negative connotations associated with care and support work often discourages young people from careers that would suit their work preference. It offer great value including flexible arrangements, a variety of work, extensive career pathways and opportunities as well as the security of an ever-growing sector that young people tell us is critical for the future of work post-pandemic.”
Schmidt said the Positive Humanity campaign also educated young people about the skills and attributes needed to be successful in Human Services.
“People need to reflect on the personal traits required for the roles in addition to training and qualifications. Skilled, confident, empathic and patient staff are seen as critical to how human services providers can successfully deliver services to improve the lives of people in our communities.”
Human Services is a rapidly growing group of industries and the sector has nearly doubled the projected growth rate of any other industry in the Australian economy. It includes areas such as disability services, aged care, early childhood education and veterans’ care.
A recent survey by Year13 found the sector would need to fight perceptions of ‘hard work’ to attract school leavers into caring people-centered careers and more than 40 per cent of those surveyed said they were unlikely or wouldn’t consider a job in Human Services.
It is estimated that more than 250,000 workers will need to be found and trained in the next five years to meet the needs of Australia’s burgeoning Human Services sector and that number is expected to triple by 2050.
To visit the Positive Humanity course go to: Positive Humanity (year13.com.au)