Strengthening the Human Services Workforce

Australia needs to rapidly grow a diverse, skilled, and adaptable workforce for the human services sectors to protect, promote and respect the safety, wellbeing, participation and choice of older Australians, people with disabilities, veterans and children.

The Human Services Skills Organisation (HSSO) is an employer-led body focused on strengthening the Human Services workforce. We do this by building cross-sector collaboration and bringing together employers and training organisations to trial new ways to shape the national training system. We engage with industry experts, peak and workforce bodies, and all levels of government to influence and inform improvements to the national training system that will meet the sectors evolving needs.

Health Care and Social Assistance was Australia’s largest employment sector in 2021 at 14.3% of total national employment with more than 1.8 million workers. This workforce is expected to grow at almost double the rate of any other industry with an additional 250,000 jobs needed to meet the escalating demand for these services by 2025.

Working across Aged Care, Disability Support, Veterans’ Care, Allied Health, Youth and Community Care and Early Childhood Education and Care, we are an employer led organisation working to create a clearer understanding and improved visibility of the sector challenges in attracting, skilling and retaining staff and to develop, pilot and deliver responsive workforce development and training programs and qualifications.