“They tell me they are constantly advertising roles… I think we understand now that, in rural and regional areas, it’s a real challenge to attract people … we’ve got a series of compounding issues, cost of living challenges, lack of housing … a lot of that workforce is being pulled into metro areas.”
Workforce sustainability directly impacts organisational viability, capacity and service delivery. It also enhances preparedness and response capacity. Short-term post-disaster funding cycles mean workers are forced out of the local community service sector and their accumulated knowledge is lost. We want funding policies that recognise the long and non-linear nature of community recovery.
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Based on a 2022 survey of more than 1100 workers across multiple industries, the Climate Impacts at Work: supporting a climate ready workforce reports on the impacts of climate change on the health and wellbeing of workers. This includes managing staffing disruptions and working with increasingly agitated clients.
A strong community sector for a safe climate from the Victorian Council of Social Service describes how the impacts of climate change on their workforce threaten the operation of community service organisations.