Critical skills shortages and the inability to attract and retain staff are impacting the capacity of many Victorian councils to deliver some services and projects and meet the needs of their communities.
The Victorian Government has made an election commitment to develop a $6.3 million pilot program that would address critical skills and workforce gaps in the Victorian local government sector by creating training opportunities in response to the needs of councils.
The Government’s commitment to the Local Government Earn and Learn pilot program will help councils to ensure they have the workforce needed to deliver for their communities.
The two-year program will be delivered by a consortium of the state’s dual-sector higher education providers, led by RMIT University.
All 79 local councils in Victoria will be invited to participate in the program, which aims to address the challenges councils are facing to deliver several key services and projects due to critical skills shortages.
The program partners – including RMIT, Federation University, Swinburne University of Technology and Victoria University – will collaborate with the local government sector throughout 2024 and 2025 to identify skills shortages and then co-design tailored training opportunities to directly address the sector’s needs.
Prospective participants will have access to the program from 2025, which will also benefit jobseekers by creating local job opportunities that are secure, inclusive, and local.
For more information on the Local Government Earn and Learn Pilot Program, please contact innovation.projects@rmit.edu.au.