Workforce Capacity Building Scholarship Program

The National Suicide Prevention Trial was announced by the Australian Government in 2016. It was designed to gather evidence and further understanding of what strategies are most effective in preventing suicide at a local level and in at-risk populations.

More specifically, its objective was to provide evidence of how an evidence-based multi-component systems approach to suicide prevention might best be undertaken within the Australian context and to identify new learnings in relation to suicide prevention in at-risk population groups including people who have attempted suicide or are considered at risk of suicide.

Following, in 2018, LWRS commenced our inaugural Workforce Training Capacity Building Scholarship Program. The Program has been refunded each year since, and is immensely successful.

Through such, we provide full scholarships to students to complete the Certificate IV in Community Services. Those students, are supported to complete their education and training, so as to later transition into paid employment that ultimately supports the communities in which they are based. The Certificate IV was developed in collaboration with our partner Registered Training Provider, and reflects the Suicide Prevention Project funded by Western NSW Primary Health Network (PHN). Through the Program, LWRS also provides standardised training to support the detection and response to suicide risk. Our hugely capable staff are trained to facilitate and train in ASIST, CALM Care, Calm, SafeTALK, Accidental Counselor, and Mental Health First Aid. Through the development of our Program, we have also extended the provision of our standardised training to first responders, various community organisations, educational providers, and the general public.

Since commencement, LWRS has supported in excess of 50 students to complete the Certificate IV or Diploma in Community Services.

While we have provided the Program, in multiple variations, to the Northern, Southern and Western regions of the PHN, in 2023, the Program will diversify again. LWRS will provide the opportunity for residents of Western NSW PHN to complete the Certificate IV in Community Services, with a focus on Alcohol and Other Drugs. This diversification reflects the dire need to address substance abuse rates in the Western NSW PHN catchment.

The Program is proudly funded by the Western NSW Primary Health Network.