Adaptability and learning skills:

The reviewed literature emphasises the adaptability, flexibility and learning skills demonstrated by workforce due to the rapid digital transformation that has occurred within industries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples include:

• The power of TAFE: the COVID story explores the approaches TAFE staff took to adapt at the onset of the pandemic. Virtually overnight TAFE staff transformed their teaching and training to be delivered into the home of students for over seventy per cent of activity.
• The research conducted for Service Innovation Deep Dive: Capturing and Leveraging Learnings from Service Innovation during COVID-19 found that organisations in the aged care, disability services, and emergency relief sectors adapted rapidly in order to continue meeting their clients’ needs during the COVID-19 crisis, leveraged technology, such conducting cooking, art and exercise classes and social groups online.
• In People Matters: Unleashing The Future, all respondents acknowledged the incredible resilience and capacity of their people to manage often overwhelming change.

There have been a number of businesses that have adapted their operations and products to assist with the COVID-19 health response. The Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has showcased some of these, primarily manufacturing, businesses.

Industries and their workforces providing essential services have been required to be innovative and adaptive to change due to government health measures, sometimes at short notice. There have been rostering changes, capacity limits, and additional hygiene requirements for the majority of industries as they have needed to retain provision of onsite labour or in-person services. Critical industries and occupations have varied between the states and territories, but have generally included the Health, Public Safety, Utilities, Retail (essential), Transport, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Education, Mining, Manufacturing (major), particularly Food and Pharmaceuticals, and Information and Communications Technology sectors that relate to telecommunications, data, broadcasting and media services.

Skills Urgency: Transforming Australia’s Workplaces reports that respondents to the survey, which focussed specifically on the skill needs and workforce development plans of businesses as they ramped up their activity, indicated they have a growing need for soft skills, such as problem solving, adaptability, creativity, and initiative. The employers surveyed representing a mix of industry sectors including Manufacturing, Construction, Services and Mining, and the demand for soft skills had increased substantially for occupational categories including Managers, Professionals, Sales Workers, Technicians and Trade Workers, and Clerical and Administrative workers.

Corrections and Public Safety

The work environment in the Correctional Services sector is very diverse, and those working within the sector occupy a range of roles in prisons, juvenile and immigrant detention, parole services, correctional administration, and management.

The Corrections IRC’s 2021 Industry Outlook identifies the three main adaptability related skills ‘emotional intelligence’, ‘resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility’ and ‘self-management’ as essential skills for the Correctional Services workforce. This is highlighted in the following quotes taken from the industry outlook:

The Corrections workforce need to manage increasingly large populations of offenders and provide individualised support. This requires them to have higher-order skills in communication, critical thinking, problem solving, empathy, victim awareness, relationship management, and self-management planning.

Although trained to deal with stressful situations, staff rarely receive formal/accredited training relating to looking after their own mental health and building resilience to handle stressful situations over prolonged periods.

The Corrections workforce needs to have the appropriate skills and understanding of offenders with a cognitive impairment to be able to support them in the prison environment. The workforce needs to understand prisoner patterns of thoughts and behaviour to de-escalate stressful situations and engage effectively with them.

Additionally, the challenges and opportunities listed in the Correctional Services Workforce Insights highlights the three main adaptability skills in the following quotes:

• professionalisation and changing skills needs, including in communication, critical thinking, problem solving, empathy, victim awareness, relationship management and self- management planning.
• more requirements for staff to have ‘soft’ skills, with staff needing cognitive skills and emotional intelligence to build rapport and sympathy with offenders to communicate effectively and resolve or de-escalate conflicts.

Public Safety industry comprises police, fire and rescue services, maritime rescue, emergency services and emergency management agencies, Defence, and intelligence organisations, including associated administrative and support functions. The Police sector workforce is engaged in a range of activities including crime prevention, emergency and non-emergency assistance and response, regulatory and licencing enforcement. Police also often engage in community programs and engagement activities.

The Public Safety IRC’s 2021 Industry Outlook identifies ‘resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility’ as essential skills for the Police sector workforce, highlighted in the following quote:

The ability to move flexibly from one role to another and similarly from a specific set of duties to others is becoming more important. A focus on a resilient and adaptive workforce that can respond to any context remains a key priority. The welfare of police is also of paramount importance; therefore a focus on resilience and wellbeing will continue to be maintained.

The Government Response to the inquiry report ‘The People Behind 000: Mental Health of Our First Responders’ acknowledges the importance of resilience and stress tolerance, supporting in principle the committee recommendation committee recommends that compulsory first responder mental health awareness training, including safety plans, be implemented in every first responder organisation across Australia. The Response includes examples of initiatives funded by the Australian Government, such as:

Development of the National Police Memorial Co portal, which will educate and build resilience in police officers in the area of social, emotional and psychological health

An evidence-based program designed by the Canadian Mental Health Commission aimed at improving individual and organisational resilience and reducing stigma associated with mental health.

The Response also states:

First responder organisations are familiar with the high-risk nature of first responder work and must consider and implement strategies to minimise risks to psychological health, including building a positive workplace culture and providing appropriate mental health training to staff and managers.