Managers of Aboriginal Workforce Development is a collective term used to describe the roles of those Aboriginal Managers working in workforce development and Support. Frequently the positions are titled as Aboriginal Employment Coordinators, however this title is not exclusively utilised.
Each local health district should employ a Manager of Aboriginal Workforce Development who reports to the Workforce Executive in their district/network/service. Funding for these positions is from the budget for the purpose of local management.
The Manager of Aboriginal Workforce Development works with other managers within human resource services and across the clinical and non-clinical networks to support the growth and development of the Aboriginal health workforce. This role is strategically linked to the activities NSW Health undertakes to achieve the minimum Aboriginal workforce employment rate target of 2.6% by 2018.
The Managers of Aboriginal Workforce Development network is comprised of Managers of Aboriginal Workforce, Managers of Aboriginal Employment, Aboriginal Employment Coordinators, Aboriginal Workforce Coordinators or similarly titled or responsible roles who represent their local health districts, specialty networks and other public health organisations, in relation to supporting Aboriginal recruitment, retention, education, training, support and other workforce issues. The network representatives are not human resource specialists and therefore are not always aligned directly through human resource services.
Within their respective services the network representatives work in partnership to develop and implement broad based Aboriginal workforce action plans or Aboriginal employment strategies under the NSW Health framework and in line with state and national targets including Close the Gap, related initiatives, processes and policies to ensure that Aboriginal employment and retention strategies are incorporated into the broader health service framework e.g. support the development of hiring managers, line managers and supervisors in the development of or preparation for the recruitment of identified or targeted positions; provide advice regarding the development of training (education to employment) pathways and related activities.
The network meets on a quarterly basis to share information, ideas and initiatives to increase and support the Aboriginal public health workforce. The Aboriginal workforce unit at the NSW Ministry of Health provides secretariat support to the network.
For assistance with any part of the recruitment process for an Aboriginal person, please contact the nominated representative from your health district, pillar or agency at Stepping Up - Contacts.