SYDNEY: iCollege Limited signed a partnership agreement with The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (The Guild) to jointly develop a customised Infection Control Skill Set and collaboratively market and deliver this important training to Australia’s community pharmacies.
This agreement has been executed and will remain in place for 12 months.
On 16 May 2020, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash – Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business said in a media release, “The Morrison Government and all State and Territory governments have agreed to jointly invest in a new $80 million infection control training fund. The fund will support customer-facing businesses to train workers in how to minimise the risk of spread of COVID-19 and support them to re-open safely. The fund will enable the rollout of new infection control short courses, the first national training product developed by the new Australian Industry Skills Emergency Response Sub-Committee in response to COVID-19.Around 80,000 workers across industries including retail, food handling, and transport and logistics will pay no fee or a small fee for training previously only widely available in the health sector.”
Since the Ministers announcement, iCollege has been diligently working on the contextualisation (customisation) of these skill sets (short courses) and will also make them available to the healthcare, transport and logistics, retail, food, hospitality and sporting industries.
This important partnership with The Guild means that the retail skill set will now be further contextualised, utilising the expertise of The Guild’s own subject matter experts, to ensure safe practices are in place for pharmacy staff who are on the front line of the fight against COVID-19. Under the terms of the agreement The Guild will receive licensing payments for the addition of their training materials and further development of the skill set.
This short course can be delivered both online and in a face to face format if required. This training is nationally accredited and all who complete the short course will be provided with a Statement of Attainment and more importantly, the knowledge to safely perform their duties in the workplace.
Through subsidiary businesses, Sero Institute, Celtic Training and Capital Training Institute, iCollege has funding contracts in place with the relevant state bodies in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and The Australian Capital Territory. This gives iCollege the largest geographical reach of any RTO to deliver this training with the exception of TAFE. iCollege is currently working on being able to deliver the training in Tasmania, Victoria and The Northern Territory.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia Executive Director Suzanne Greenwood said: “As the peak body for community pharmacies across Australia, we are excited to be working with iCollege to make available customised Infection Control Training to our members. Our members and their staff work tirelessly in the battle against COVID-19 and it is our priority to ensure they all have the knowledge and tools they require to do their job safely.
The customisation of this training in conjunction with iCollege provides our members with access to that knowledge. Community pharmacists are highly trained, trusted and easily accessible health professionals – this training supports community pharmacy to be there for the community in these challenges days. We will be providing our members with all of the information they require in order to access this important Government initiative.”
iCollege Executive General Manager Stuart Manifold added: “With the assistance of The Guild’s Subject Matter Experts, we will be able to provide a very relevant short course of the highest standard to community pharmacy.
“With our established government contracts and accreditation, and our national presence, we can immediately mobilise quickly to deliver this very necessary and valuable training. Our partnership in the pharmacy sector is the first step, and with the government funding in place, we are looking to roll out the training much more widely in the healthcare, transport and logistics, retail, hospitality and professional sporting sectors. As an accredited RTO nationally, we are best placed to do this.”
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