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It is widely acknowledged that many HACC agency Managers and Coordinators have gained their positions through the skills and experience they have developed working within the home and community care network. Feedback from these Managers and Coordinators, however, indicate that they recognise the need to develop their knowledge and skills to better equip them to manage staff, manage operational issues and align their working responsibilities with the HACC objectives and National Service Standards.
To support HACC agencies, CommunityWest in consultation with both metropolitan and regional HACC agencies is developing a range of tools to assist Managers and Coordinators to identify their current level of knowledge and skills, and assist in developing professional development plans
The aim of this project is to implement a skills development program addressing the needs of existing and new HACC Managers / Coordinators and Assessors in the area of HACC philosophy, guidelines and objectives and focusing their roles and responsibilities within these guidelines. The project is an opportunity to embed within the HACC care network a culture of person centred care and professional development.
The project links closely to the Workforce Development project.
It is a set of set of ‘tools’ which consist of;
- A M/C/A Knowledge and Skills framework
- A M/C/A Knowledge and Skills Set
- A Learning and Development Plan
- An information booklet which explains how to complete the ‘tools’.
These ‘tools’ assist the individual working within HACC to identify their own current level of knowledge and skills It can also assists them in developing their personal and professional development needs.
The Development Leader Support Program has been created to help sustain a culture of professional development within the Home and Community Care (WA HACC) arena.
This Support Program targets individuals within an agency who are interested in ‘helping others develop’. These individuals are able to undertake a Development Leader workshop followed by a series of Development Leader learning circles.
The workshop and learning circles have been designed to equip the new Development Leaders, to support and coach their peers to complete the ‘tools’ (M/C/A Knowledge and Skills Development Program) within their agency.
It had been identified that many Managers, Coordinators, and Assessors, within HACC had gained their positions through the skills and experiences they had developed, through working within the home and community care network. These Managers, Coordinators and Assessors indicated that they recognised they needed to develop their knowledge and skills further to assist them in working in the HACC arena.
This led to the development of the M/C/A Knowledge and Skills Program and the Development Leader Support Program. These ‘tools’ were developed by CommunityWest in consultation with WA DOH, and Managers, Co coordinators and Assessors of HACC agencies in the metropolitan and regional areas.
- It provides the opportunity for the individual to develop new knowledge and skills.
- It assists in improving job satisfaction and performance.
- It can assist in career development for the individual.
- It assists the individual to empower their peers in professional development activities.
- It helps to encourage creative learning and development activities in the work arena e.g. networking, shadowing, e learning, work based learning etc.
- Develops a culture of a learning environment.
- It demonstrates commitment from the agency to the Professional Development process.
- It demonstrates commitment from the agency to the Quality Assurance process e.g. Continuous improvement.
- It encourages a partnership approach in creating a sustainable Professional Development network within the HACC sector.
- It also assists in recruiting, retaining and retention of staff in line with the Workforce Development initiative.
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MCA Development Program