Case study: Contribution of NSW training programs to the NSW public health response workforce

NSW Health has well-established population health training programs. Three training programs made significant contributions to the COVID-19 public health response: the Public Health Training Program, Biostatistics Training Program and the Aboriginal Population Health Training Initiative. Each of these three-year workplace-based training programs provide supervised learning across a range of population and public health settings. Trainees develop public health competencies while contributing to the strategic and operational priorities of NSW Health.

A core function of the Public Health and Biostatistics Training Programs is to provide surge capacity for NSW Health. Trainees can be rapidly deployed to support issues of public health importance. At the start of the pandemic, trainees represented 28% of staff in the statewide public health response. Over the course of the pandemic, 73 trainees were deployed to the response. This included:

• 60 Public Health and Biostatistics Trainees who supported statewide operations, policy and borders, venue management, epidemiology and surveillance, adverse events following immunisation, logistics and central contact tracing.
• 13 Aboriginal Population Health Trainees who supported local health district responses in venue management, contact tracing, supporting Aboriginal-identified cases and contacts, participating in vaccination clinics in Aboriginal communities and consulting with community.

Trainees brought a range of public health skills and experience to the response and were able to be deployed quickly, with minimal onboarding. They were highly valued for their expertise and enthusiasm. The diversity of skills gained through work placements and professional experiences were aligned with the wide range of skill needs across the response.

The training programs also supported leadership capacity within the response. More than 60 program alumni participated in the response in senior roles, including the Chief Health Officer, Deputy Chief Health Officer, and Public Health Controllers.

In addition to supporting the workforce needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience of working in the response enabled trainees to develop and strengthen capability in areas such as epidemiology, surveillance, outbreak management, rapid policy development, and management and leadership. Their involvement represents a significant investment in future leadership capacity for NSW Health and preparedness for public health emergencies.