In my farewell blog as HASANZ Chair I want to look to the future and a task that is waiting to be done. The development of the HASANZ Register of health and safety professionals will have a powerful impact on growing the capability of the workplace health and safety workforce.
However, increasing the capacity and capability of the workforce to meet future demand requires a whole of sector, integrated approach. This needs to be underpinned by a comprehensive workforce development strategy. Both are lacking now and we need to close this gap in forward resourcing.
I see a role for HASANZ in focusing attention on this need and leading the thinking to address it. Why HASANZ? We are an independent body that can move nimbly between government, education and training providers, unions and business, bringing together a broad range of perspectives around the issue of workforce capability and capacity. And the national community of health and safety professionals that we represent is rooted in the real world of daily practice. Together, we need to grapple with the question “what workforce will be required in 20 years?” We need to proactively plan for the world of the person who is born today.