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NDS is delighted to share that the Minister for the NDIS, the Hon Stuart Robert MP, has announced grant funding of $975,965 over two years for NDS’s Workable WA ‘Grow the Workforce, Strengthen the Market’ initiative. This is one of 16 successful projects that will share funding provided through the $10 million in grants from the Jobs and Market Fund (JMF).The JMF announced in the 2018-19 Budget provided $45.6 million over three years from 2018-19 to 2020-21 to support the growth of the NDIS market and workforce in capacity (including geographic spread) and capability. The first round of JMF projects will help to meet this demand by developing and delivering workforce training for those working in the NDIS, and helping to recruit and retain a capable workforce.This critical project will encourage NDIS market and workforce growth in WA, addressing under-supplied markets. The NDS WA Industry Plan identified that the number of jobs generated by the NDIS in WA will double over the next three years, rising from 10,507 this year to 20,144 direct and indirect full-time jobs by 2020. It will also trigger large-scale economic growth and job creation in the state with the total economic contribution of the disability sector in WA increasing from $1.4 billion to $2.7 billion in 2020. These projected outcomes strongly align with the McGowan Government’s commitment to jobs growth and to grow and diversify the state’s economy.The grant funding of almost $1M for the WA Grow the Workforce project will be used to attract school-leavers to the disability sector and develop a Skills Passport to help NDIS providers and self-managed participants find competent, skilled staff.The Skills Passport project will develop a sector-wide strategy that recognises training for workers in the disability sector beyond the formal VET training, reducing duplication of investment and streamlining processes for people working casually or for multiple providers over time.