Workforce Capability, Development and Wellbeing
‘The Employee Wellbeing Strategy provides employees with access to tools, initiatives and knowledge that supports them to enhance their wellbeing and flourish.’
We will be a leading employer in the sector with a focus on workforce capability, development and wellbeing.
Our 2024-25 key projects, achievements, successes to be celebrated under this priority included:
Employee Wellbeing Strategy
Underpinned by valuable insights gained from the Employee Engagement and Wellbeing Survey in 2023, our Employee Wellbeing Strategy (EWS) was developed and launched in 2024. The EWS provides employees with access to tools, initiatives and knowledge that supports them to enhance their wellbeing and flourish. We recognise that building the capacity of management and leadership to support and influence employee wellbeing is crucial to the success of the EWS. The EWS identifies four priority areas in which to focus and explore initiatives within our workplace to support our vision for employee wellbeing:
- Values and Purpose
- Leadership and Management
- Person Focussed Supportive Culture
- Safe, Respectful and Fair Working Conditions
Significant work was undertaken within the EWS and invigorated our focus on the health and wellbeing of our workforce including: equipping management and leadership with the tools and knowledge to support employee wellbeing; Mental Health Week grant enabling wellbeing focused reflections and celebrations for all employees; free flu vaccinations for employees; and a new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that offers holistic health and wellbeing supports to our employees and immediate family.
Professional Development
Our employees are essential in achieving our vision of providing high quality, inclusive and safe education and care services and we continued to invest in professional development including: Child Protection training for employees; Safe Sleep training for 341 employees; First Aid training for 412 employees; 8 representatives attended the Early Childhood Australia Conference in Brisbane in September 2024; online Early Childhood Australia New Manager Program utilising a community of practice approach for 8 employees; Helen Stephen Memorial Scholarship for an educator undertaking study towards an early childhood degree; Connection Days for Managers and Assistant Managers to improve safety, quality and practice; access to sector specific online and in-person training sessions; access to the Early Childhood Australia learning hub; access to the LGT’s Community of Practice – a collaborative online professional learning platform; supporting Workplace Trainees information sessions; Coaching Capability Project which culminated in a Coaching Framework for the IAT team; 2024 ECEC Workforce and Wellbeing Forum; and ‘Walking on Country’ session.
Recruitment & Projects
To support delivery of high quality, safe and inclusive services and strengthening of our workforce capability, the People and Quality team was restructured to enhance our focus on Quality and Safeguarding, Risk and Safety and People and Culture Partnering. The People & Culture Systems and Process Optimisation Project was launched to support our strategic plan priorities and to achieve our purpose through continuous improvement and robust systems and processes. Early achievements of this project included the staged implementation of the Human Resource Information System Employment Hero which enhanced recruitment workflows; introduced digital onboarding replacing manual forms; and improved the experience for new employees and Managers. These improvements have streamlined processes, strengthened compliance, and contributed to creating a modern, connected and people-centred workplace that enables our teams to focus on delivering high quality, safe and inclusive education and care. Planning commenced for the negotiation of our Enterprise Agreement to ensure that we continue to provide competitive employment conditions and benefits for our people, valuing, attracting and retaining the best people in the sector and ensuring the ongoing quality and sustainability of our services.
Workforce Training
Training is a strategic priority and is embedded in our daily operations, blending theory and practice through coaching, personalised study plans and peer learning. In 2024-25 we financially supported 117 educators to upgrade early childhood education qualifications which included 52 Diploma learners and 66 Certificate III learners. The enthusiasm and dedication of these employees to their learning strengthened our workforce and enriched the education and care we provided to children. Our Trainee Coordinator, RTO Consultants, Education and Care Leaders (Regional Managers, Service Managers, Assistant Managers, Team Leaders, Educational Leaders) continued to support our trainees with assessment tasks, mentoring and coaching to ensure that every trainee was aligned with our philosophy, pedagogy and practices. This commitment to training continued to build employee capability, offer career progression, strengthen quality outcomes for children, and support the sustainability of Tasmania’s education and care workforce.
‘Our employees are essential in achieving our vision of providing high quality, inclusive and safe education and care services and we continued to invest in professional development.’
Workforce Retention
Retaining a professional, capable and committed workforce remained a priority this year. As part of our ongoing commitment to recognising and rewarding the contribution of our valued workforce, LGT passed on the government’s 15% educator pay rise to all eligible employees. The first 10% was delivered in December 2024, and the remaining 5% will be delivered in December 2025. We continued to offer the following programs and benefits to our employees: above Award conditions and wages, a free Employee Assistance Program; recognition of significant anniversaries; a calendar of events to recognise significant dates and bring our people together; salary packaging up to $18,550 per annum; up to 8 weeks paid parental leave as well as the government parental leave; 13 weeks long service leave after 10 years of service; opportunities for financial support to upgrade qualifications through our RTO; a 15% discount on fees after government contributions for employees’ children attending LGT services; flexible working arrangements aligned with role; and opportunities for ongoing professional and career development.
Employee Snapshot 2024-25
In 2024-25 we celebrated a record number of total employees with strong tenure and retention rates:
Total Employees
Employee Status
Employee Roles
Average tenure – 4.6 years | Retention @ 10+ years – 11%