Workforce Development Interview - Gabrielle Meagher

Gabrielle Meagher who is Professor of Social Policy at Sydney University has been interviewed on workforce issues by Miguel Ferrero. This is a summary of the conversation.

What is your current role?I am a researcher and teacher in the area of social policy. I have been researching different aspects of work in the social services area for many years.

What do you find challenging about the industry?The industry is growing and changing, and the demands on the workforce are increasing

What in your opinion are the key workforce issues faced by the community sector?In the community sector, the workers are the key to the quality of services. To be able to do their best work, workers need the right working environment and conditions. They need access to high quality, relevant training; meaningful career paths; good remuneration and humane working conditions; and to work in well-organised, well-managed workplaces. The sector faces the challenge of offering these opportunities and environments to workers

What strategies the sector could develop to address these issues?Strategies could be developed at several levels in the sector, from individual to organisation and beyond. At the individual level, workers need to feel a strong sense of themselves as workers with rights to good jobs with pay, conditions and career paths that recognise their skills and enable them to do their best. At the workplace level, organisations can ensure that they do not exploit the goodwill of workers through expecting unpaid overtime or offering poor, casual working conditions. Organisations also need to give workers meaningful opportunities to develop their practice in a collegial way, through arrangements such as regular professional supervision, a say in how the organisation is run, and paid support for training and development. Workers can work together collectively through unions, together with peak bodies and consumer groups, to push for policy change in how services are funded and to make sure organisations are regulated and run well